Celestial Alignment

New Beginnings

Julia woke up before her alarm.

For a few seconds, she lied awake. Just staring at the ceiling.

Then she remembered.

Last night. Her mom. The glass. The memories came crashing over her like high tides.

She sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The room was silent. The only sound was the quiet ticking of her alarm clock on her nightstand.

Her room was very specifically organized.

Everything was neatly made. Her desk, her books, all the way her mom liked. She looked back at the gold cross above her bed.

Then looked away.

The clock read 6:17AM. It wasn't gonna go off for another thirteen minutes, but there was no point in going back to bed. She might as well start her prayers.

She climbed out of bed, kneeling over the edge of it, and started repeating her hail mary's. Before she could get through the first one, the door cracked open.

"Julia?"

Julia tensed up.

"Good morning, mother."

"Good of you to start your prayers early. After last night, you need forgiveness from God."

Julia's jaw clenched, the dull ache on her improperly bandage arm throbbed. It was a reminder of her sin, that's what her mom said.

"I understand."

"Get back to it." Her mother left, shutting the door. Julia continued her prayers, her pleading more desperate this time.

After she had gotten ready, Julia grabbed her bag. Today was a new beginning, a new school, a new life.

She grabbed the uniform from her closet and pulled it on. Not great. It was definitely too small, since her mom couldn't bear the idea that Julia had grown since she was thirteen years old. The neckline specifically was snug, but she could deal with it.

Julia made her way downstairs, passing her mom who was leaned over at her desk. She always was.

Her driver, Elizabeth was already in the car. Julia climbed in and sat down in the back seat.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. God bless you."

Elizabeth nodded, staring ahead blankly for a few seconds. Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"Oh- Yes. God bless you, Julia."

The rest of the car ride was silent. Julia pulled at the neckline of her uniform, it wasn't the most comfortable.

Finally, they made it to the school. Before she even got out of the car, Julia was in awe. There were students with colored hair, piercings, scandalous outfits, they all needed God desperately. She planned to get out and preach to them, but Elizabeth grabbed her shoulder.

"These students are not like you. Understand that. Try to avoid speaking to anyone."

Julia almost argued back, but she just nodded and walked towards the entrance. God did not like an argumentative person. That's what her mom told her.

She made her way into the building. The school had previously sent her a schedule, so she was mostly prepared. Her first class was AP Calculus.

The classroom was fuller than she expected. Her old school had few kids. They thought less students made the education better. But, here there was one seat left. It was next to a boy who had.. customized his uniform. He had bleached hair, and noticeable makeup on. Julia frowned, sitting down next to him.

"What's up?" He spoke, his tone overly casual for school.

Julia slowly turned her head. "Nothing."

Before she could process it, he snatched the schedule off her desk. "Damn girl! We have a lot of classes together."

What the heck? This... sinner, was acting like he had known her for years. Who was this confident talking to a stranger?

"Oh, wow."

"Oh good, you're taking PE. New students never wanna do it. My friend, MK, has to do it for the credits. She was worried we'd be the only ones." He laughed.

"Well, your girlfriend won't need to worry about it."

He burst out laughing like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Julia grimaced at him, almost disgusted by his demeanor.

"Oh my god- that's hilarious. My boyfriend's gonna go insane when I tell him you said that."

Julia gritted her teeth. This was disgusting. How was her luck so bad that she was going to be stuck with this boy all year?

"Oh- By the way, I'm Bowie."

"Okay." She turned over, looking at the board.

So far, this school was terrible.

(ok ik this is short, i'm js tryna yk introduce the plottt!! i hope u liked it if anyone's actually reading this?)