Sybil

Chapter 1

"This year will be magical, I'm telling you," said Arya with sparkles in her eyes and such conviction that I believed it for a minute. Arya was someone who spoke to be heard. You would catch yourself listening to her even if you were trying not to. She would compel you to listen to her as if every word she said was a dare. "I dare you to listen to me."

"I think it'll be the same as every other year, Arya," I said, dismissively, and added, "Oh, but yeah, there's lots to look forward to!" in an attempt to compensate for my cynicism.

"Oh, shut up," she said, smiling. "You can drop the act of being excited for school just because I am." 

"Well, to be fair, I'm pretty sure you're the only one who's ever actually excited about school," I said. Arya loved being in school. She said it was better than being home and she would fill up with dread every time the bell rang for dismissal. 

"Well, to be fair, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who's ever actually excited about seeing you, too," she said, with a smile that showed her one slightly crooked tooth. 

I gasped dramatically with my hand on my mouth, and whispered, "How dare you, Arya Kapoor! You shall pay for that!" 

I started chasing her on the sidewalk and she screamed, "Race you to school!"

"Can you stop acting like a bunch of seven-year-olds? This year is our chance at popularity! I don't want you gremlins messing with it by fucking racing to school, for fuck's sake," said Alisha, exasperatedly at the school gates.

"And good morning to you, too, Ali," I said, half panting from all the running, my hands on my knees.

"Good morning, indeed. What sixteen-year-old races to school, seriously? We need to get our act together, or we can kiss goodbye to having lunch with the popular kids," said Alisha, still annoyed.

"Well, calm the fuck down, Alisha. We were just messing around," said Arya. 

"Messing around with my chances of dating Warner, that's what," said Alisha, her hands crossed.

"Aw, we're so sorry for messing up your chances with a guy whose name makes him sound like he's a seventy-year-old man who smokes a pipe for sustenance," said Arya, at which Alisha walked away.

"God, why did you have to say that? Now we have to make up with her over lunch," I said.

"I said what I said. Why is she so obsessed with this guy, anyway?" asked Arya.

"It's alright, man. She's sixteen. We're sixteen. That's the first person she has ever actually liked. I think we can lay her off for a bit," I said.

"Agh! Why are you the way that you are?" Arya said, rhetorically, and looked at me as if she was going to say something else or do something else, but stopped herself. 

"You mean so wise and irresistible?" I asked, smirking.

"Right," she said, rolling her eyes, her mouth breaking into a smile.

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The hallways were exuding the smell of cheap cologne mixed with sweat (And also vomit? Welcome back to high school, I guess) when we entered. 

On reaching our locker, Arya said, "Alright, the first day of school and we have a case."

"What do you mean?"

"There has been a murder-"

"Yeah, righ-"

"And we need to figure out who did it because it feels like someone died in here," said Arya, with such satisfaction on her face as if she were to get an award for this joke.

"You are so fucking dramatic, I swear, but valid point," I said, which only made her more smug.

"Have you ever seen me make a point that was like, not valid? I'm always right," said Arya, her smile reaching her ears.

"Alright, Ms. I'm-always-right, may we head to class now? The teacher won't think of us as being right at all if we're late," I said.

"You're so lame it hurts my head. We better run," said Arya, and we sped to class.

I was trying so hard to get to class first that I didn't see someone coming my way and bumped into them in the corridor.

"Oh, fuck's sake," they said.

I looked at them and my heart started racing. We were pretty close. They would have fallen down if I hadn't held them. The person had skin that was so pale and luminous that it reminded me of the moon, and like the moon has craters that look like spots from far away, they too had a birthmark on the right, just on their jawline. Their eyes were black and I could see my reflection in them, staring back at me. They weren't wearing makeup except for eyeliner and black lipstick, and I had this urge to kiss them. I wanted to kiss their black lips and make the colour seep into mine. 

I heard a loud cough and noticed that Arya was staring at us, looking rather stoic. 

"I-I'm so sorry I was racing my- I'm sorry," I blurted out and noticed their books were spread on the floor. I started to help them pick their books up.

"It's alright. At least I'll have a funny story to tell about my first day of school here," they said, partly smiling.

I laughed my nervous laugh and Arya noticed. She looked at me blankly.

"Ah, you're new here. Maybe we could help you out a bit? I feel pretty sorry after my friend just crash-landed into you on your first day of school," said Arya.

"No, it's okay. Your friend's pretty. I don't mind being held by pretty people. Another cool detail for my dinner story," she said, so casually that I didn't know if she actually meant it, but my body felt like it was on fire.

"Well, you like being held by pretty people, and I like helping pretty people out. It's kind of a perfect situation, isn't it?" I asked, smirking. I was squealing inside. What did I just say to her? 

"In that case, I accept your help, even if I still believe I don't need it. Just because you think I'm pretty," she said and I opened my mouth to say something, but Arya intervened, "We're late for class."

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," the person said, and we rushed to class.

Fuck, fuck, fuck- that's all that went through my head when we were on our way to class. The way they said it, in hushed tones, in their deep, slightly smoky voice. Our arms brushed once while rushing in, and my stomach dropped. 

It's just infatuation, Dua. It's okay. This is okay, I thought, and then I saw them looking at me.

Maybe Arya was right. Maybe this year will be magical.

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hello, ladies, gents, and my nonbinary friends. I hope you had as much fun reading the first chapter as much as I had writing it. I will be giving song recommendations in every chapter that match the vibe of how the story is going. man, this is exciting.

hope you find a reason to feel grateful today.

love,

sufi <3