12:01

05:00

[unedited]

The dark, thundering clouds reflected his mood that morning as Daniel walked out of the office doors of Walnut High. He clenched his jaw as he thought about the argument with his mother that morning. Breakfast. Who fought about eating breakfast in the morning anymore? He was seventeen, not twelve. He knew how to eat breakfast, and could decide when to eat it.

The building had posters decorating the brick walls, and Daniel worked his way through the maze, trying to find his class. Some students were doing backflips in the crowd, while others were painting another poster, their hands and arms covered in mixes of red and blue paint. A few kids nodded at him as he passed by.

Daniel stepped in the school hallway and looked around, following the crowd of people who moved like waddling penguins. The building itself was dark blue, and a showcase of trophies were on his right. He clutched his schedule and looked around, tightening the hold of his backpack—his old backpack.

He didn't want to look lost, or helpless. Besides, it wasn't like he was looking for friends—he just wanted to get through the year in peace. He hastily took a look at the paper again. Daniel K. Reyes, Grade 11, the top read. Under that it said, 08:40-9:30, Mrs. B. Robinson, Anatomy, Floor 3, P. 1.

He glimpsed at the clock on the wall as he wandered along. 8:36. Shit. He needed a miracle to be in class in four minutes—a miracle that didn't involve someone helping him or seeing how vulnerable he could be right now.

"Do you need help?" Daniel turned, eyes growing wide. Did he know her? The girl's eyes seemed to widen in recognition as well.

"Daniel," she took another step forward, opened her mouth and then closed it. A grin spread across her face, but Daniel froze. How did she know his name? Her eyes seemed familiar, and so did her smile, yet he couldn't figure out who she was.

Surely, she wasn't from his old school. "Do I know you?"

Her face fell. "You don't remember me? We used to be friends, remember? I mean, we were like siblings."

No way. "Victoria?"

"Ugh, finally!" She reached out to hug him, but he was as stiff as a tree. She didn't notice though, most likely due to her excitement. When she stepped back, she clapped her hands together. "It would have been so awkward if you didn't remember me. Are you in shock? You look like you're in shock."

Daniel gave her a small smile. Years passed and the she still managed to have the ability to talk a thousand words per minute. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, um. I'm not in shock."

"So. What brings you to Cali?"

"Mom wanted a change of scenery, I guess." He shrugged. She didn't have to know that he moved three hours away from where he used to live.

"Oh! That's great! We should meet up sometime, Mom would love to talk to Aunt Rosa again." She was practically bubbling with excitement, and Daniel fidgeted.

"Don't wanna be late, Vi. Let's meet up soon, though. I'm sure Mom and Dad missed you." His parents adored Vi as if she were their own child.

"You have Mrs. Robinson like me, right? Wait, let me check. Yup. I can't even remember the last time we hung out, so that'd be awesome." She started to lead him toward the stairs, chatting about how lonely she had been. How she had missed him. How her two-year-old brother Nico had taken her keys and started to suck on one of them. He laughed with her, but he was too focused on the people around them as they shoved their way through to get to class.