Close Your Eyes

one; ❝someone new❞

Rosa's POV

I head into my homeroom as the next part of my daily routine at school. At first glance, everything is the same. My teacher, Mr. Smith is sitting at his desk, not even bothering to pay attention to anyone which, frankly, isn't surprising to see. He's never cared much for the students, but he does care for the money that he gets payed to be here for. The same usual classmates are blocking my view from the rest of the room, so I walk around them.

I'm in a position where I can finally scan the classroom, and I find that my usual seat is empty, but something else seems to catch my eye.

The sight of an unfamiliar girl.

I take in her appearance, from her long, wavy rose-gold hair that compliments her skin tone to a pair of innocent chestnut eyes that border the edge of dark brown with hints of green. Her nose is in a book, and my heart warms at the sight of someone actually reading a book, considering the modern world we live in today. Everyone else is focused on their shiny phones and occasionally talking to each other, but she's on her own.

She's gorgeous.

I push the thought away as quickly as it had arrived.

Don't think like that. You're supposed to be straight, always have been and always will be.

I go to my seat, sighing as I do so and I begin my exhausting math homework. I don't think that in 20 years my ability to do calculus will matter, but for now, it consumes me. I just wish for a break from all of the schoolwork but instead, it seems as if there's more of it each day.

"Hi, my name is Aurora," I hear a new, melodic voice greet me.

I look up, and it only takes me a second to realize that it's the girl that had caught my eye.

Out of embarrassment, I quickly cover my homework with my science textbook, just so she doesn't think I'm lame for getting some work done, rather than playing around like everyone else is.

She has a beautiful voice.

"Hello," I say shyly. "My name is Rosa."

"I'm new to the school as you can probably tell, and I figured I might as well make some friends now that I'm here. You seem friendly."

I look around the classroom to make sense of the different groups. There's the group that only cares about sports, the group that only cares about their social media accounts, and the group only cares about gossip. I never found that I belonged with any of those groups, so I always retreat to sitting by myself in my own area. I suppose that compared to them, I do look for friendly.

"Well, you're welcome to be my friend."

"Can I see your schedule? Maybe we have some classes together."

I nod my head, and take a copy of my schedule out of my favorite blue folder. I hand it to her, and she scans it over, her eyes opening widely as she does so.

"Wow, you're really smart," she praises me.

"Not really," I say, refusing to accept the compliment.

In school, I've been labeled as a gifted student. Someone who's supposedly smarter than the rest, but I never truly feel like I fit the title. Maybe it's my own insecurities, or maybe it's the truth.

"Wow, smart and modest."

I feel myself blush, flattered that she would compliment me but I weakly shake my head again.

Usually, people like to comment on my average intelligence, but I often ignore them. With her though, it somehow feels more meaningful, which is strange, considering the fact that we just met.

"Any classes together?" I ask her curiously.

"Only English and this class," she responds.

I sigh, disappointed that we don't have more together, but I know that two is better than none. I've been separated before from many old friends because of the influence of a mere schedule, but at least this won't change. I think that there should be more talking about how schedules can damage friendships, but that's not the point right now.

"Why weren't you in English class earlier today?"

"I overslept and didn't show up until now," she says with a giggle.

"Where did you move from?" I ask her.

"Pennsylvania," she answers softly.

Somehow, everything changes with that one question. When she responds, it feels as if the entire atmosphere around us has changed. I look more closely at her, and I notice that she seems quite upset.

I would be lying if I said that I didn't want to know more about what's happening there, but it's not my place to ask about it right now. Yet, I go against all of the warning signs in my brain, and I ask another question despite her negative emotions.

"Why'd you move here?" I ask her.

She stays silent for a few uncomfortable beats and clears her throat, clearly hurt for a reason that I can't tell. I've always been a curious person so I naturally want to know, but I also can't push her more if she doesn't want to admit it either. After all, we just met and I don't want to leave a bad first impression.

"Let's talk about something else," she quickly says.

"Sure," I agree, respecting her wishes this time and deciding that it's better to not see her upset.

It only takes her a second to pull a chair from another table, and sit across from my at my own desk. Somehow, the words flow out of us easily, and we keep talking about anything and everything for the duration of class.

The sound of the bell interrupts us, and it takes me back to my disappointing world. We both say bye to each other, and head out of the class. That period has always been extremely slow for me, but today was different.

It went by too quickly, and there definitely wasn't enough time to say everything I wanted to say to her.

The reason why today's class was better is so painstakingly clear, but I tell myself that it's just the joy of having another friend. Not the sudden appearance of a mysterious crush on a girl that I don't even know very well.

I've worked so hard up to this point, and I cannot get distracted.