I blinked my eyes slowly as I tried to adjust them to the bright light that was shrouding my face. I rolled over to the other side, backing the window, and fully pried my eyes open.
Touching my bedside table, I tried locating my phone and quickly felt the cold metal. I grabbed it and pressed the 'on' button. Luckily for me, I had reduced the brightness the night before and thereby evaded a second bout of blindness.
"Shoot!"
The time read 7:32 am.
I had slept way in and would soon be running late. I quickly threw the covers off my body and rushed out of my room to the bathroom to take a hurried shower.
Once I was done, I wore the outfit I had imagined in my head yesterday.
A grin hit my face as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. The joy I felt when what I'd planned out in my head actually looked good in real life.
I heard two knocks on my door before it opened. "Luna. Are you ready? We have to leave now," Mom said to me, smiling as she eyed my fully dressed form.
"Yeah. I just need to grab my purse and I'll be out." She nodded and closed the door.
Today is the day Mom and I check out the school I'll be attending this winter. We had a tour scheduled for today, and as much as I wouldn't like to admit it, I was a little excited. Just a little.
Musical Theater.
My dream ever since I was a little girl has been to star in musicals. I grew up watching musicals, and I starred in every play I could right from elementary school up until high school, along with my theater/drama friends.
Singing, dancing, and acting- these always brought me inexplicable happiness. Now doing all three on stage, professionally, that made me nervous, in a really good way.
That was the only thing I looked forward to while moving here. Mom said they have really great facilities and renowned professors for my course. She also mentioned that the school was a place where I could make really strong connections to get into the industry.
It's a private school, so the number of people who enroll here is fewer than in public universities. Only a select number of people were admitted.
It's also really expensive. But luckily for me, my scholarship helped cover all the expenses.
The car pulled to a stop in the large and empty-ish parking lot where a handful of cars parked. I unbuckled my seatbelt and tugged at the door handle, but a hand on my arm stopped me from getting out.
"Luna..." Mom's eyes stared into mine with guilt.
"I know you hate that we had to move here and that the divorce and everything was so sudden, but this...this is a good change. Change might be uncomfortable at first, but it's not anything we can't get used to. Let's try to live happily here, okay?"
Mom spoke with a small smile on her face but that couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes. I placed my other hand over hers that held me and gave her a tight smile.
"I'll try," I said and opened the door, exiting the car and shifting out of her hold.
I love my mom, and I completely understand the whole situation, so I'm not mad at her. It's not her fault in any way.
But coming here wasn't my choice. It disrupted my plans and my life. It's going to take a while for me to get used to living here.
Mom grew up here and also went to college here. It's the reason we moved to this city in particular. It'll be nice for her to see her childhood friend again. Mom's told me stories about her and she seemed to really miss her.
Even if that meant that I would be hundreds of miles away from mine.
"No. Let's not be like that." I shook my head as I walked into the building.
I decided to stay slightly optimistic.
Who knows? As Mac said, maybe I'll end up liking this place.
My feet moved me into the drama building unconsciously while I was still engulfed in my thoughts. Mom scurried behind, yelling at me to slow down.
The sight of huge wooden doors caused me to halt in my tracks and snap out of my thoughts. I walked closer to them and pushed them open, instantly musing at the view.
"I've never been in a theater this big," I said aloud, taking small steps inside.
"It's one of the top ten biggest in the country. That's what we boast the most about when talking about our beloved institution."
I turned my head in the direction the voice came from and saw that it was from a middle-aged lady. I quickly took in her appearance.
She was dressed in a colorful flowery dress flowing down her slender figure and had a brown scarf tying the top of her curly hair with a bun sitting neatly behind it. She was a very beautiful woman.
"Welcome to Carnegie Mellon University. My name is Willow Morris. You can call me Willow or Miss Morris, whichever you prefer. I'm the head of the Performing Arts department, and I'm also the dance teacher/choreographer. You and I will be seeing each other quite often," the lady explained.
"Hello. I'm Luna, Luna Smith. It's a pleasure meeting you, Miss Morris," I said to her with a bright smile.
"And I'm Luna's mother, Faye. Will you be our guide for the campus tour?" Mom asked from beside me.
"Yes. If you would please come with me, we'll begin the tour," Miss Morris replied to Mom, walking out the doors, while Mom and I followed behind her.
"As you just saw that was the grand theater. It's the room we use for most of our plays. We have another theater, but that is used by the students for practice. Kind of like a practice theater. Not and grand as the grand."
I smiled at her last statement and nodded my head, taking in the information she was giving out, and observing the places we passed. "And here we have the general classroom. You'll spend a good chunk of your time in the theater but for theoretical works and ground knowledge of your course, you'll have your classes in this room."
I looked inside the empty classroom and nodded again in acknowledgment. From what I'd seen so far, the school didn't look bad at all.
It is a private university after all.
Miss Morris proceeded to show us the dressing rooms for shows, the school gym, and the lavatories. She then showed us the dance studio where we would practice the required choreography for each show and a music room to practice singing.
We met another teacher on our tour, Mr. Sebastian. Miss Morris introduced him to me as the literary teacher. His job is to teach students how to efficiently decipher scripts and interpret them in their unique ways.
Seeing everything in real time got me a lot more excited, and I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins.
I'll be having my very own La La Land experience.
I finished washing my hands at the sink and dried them with some paper towels. I needed to relieve myself so we took a break from the tour and I came to the restroom.
I walked out after disposing of the tissue and bumped into someone's back with my forehead. I rubbed my forehead in annoyance and lifted my head to look at the person.
A weird thing about me is that I usually don't take the time to look directly at people's faces. Unless I already know them or there's a specific reason for me to meet their eyes.
It's something I've done unconsciously for many years, so bumping into someone like this and being forced to look at them is an annoying situation for me.
The person I had bumped into was a guy with curly brown hair. He turned around and stared at me intently with cocoa-brown eyes, his pierced right eyebrow lifting in the process.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"I'm fine. You shouldn't stand so close to the bathroom doors. It can cost people their foreheads," I spoke in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry," he said with a shrug. "If it's that bad, I can take you to the school's clinic."
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. It's not serious." I ended the conversation and walked past him. My day was just starting to get better, I couldn't let him make it moody again.
"Oh, Luna. I see you've met Nick." Miss Morris chimed walking towards me from the nearby hallway.
I didn't know she was waiting outside the restroom.
"Nick?" I repeated, giving the towering boy beside me another once over.
"Yes. He's our student body president and he's also in the school of drama. Musical Theater to be precise." She whispered the last part with a smile.
"Ah, I see." I forced a smile onto my face, feeling slightly embarrassed but not wanting to make any more of a bad impression on my first classmate.
So I extended a hand and introduced myself. "I'm Luna."
He looked down at my hand and back at my face and a smirk made its way to his lips. He then removed a hand from his pockets and held mine in a strong grip.
"Nick. You're studying the same major, right? Seems like we're gonna be spending lots of time together. It's best we get along."
The smirk never left his face.
I gave him a tight smile and dragged my hand away from his hold.
"Great timing, Nick. You can finish the rest of the tour for Luna. I need to chat with her mother in my office and sort out some paperwork."
I almost rolled my eyes at how much more time I had to spend with this Nick.
I know his type all too well. He's the arrogant, cocky kind, naturally blessed with good looks, and because of that, acts like he owns the school.
Nick nodded in response to Miss Morris, and she walked down the hallway to her destination.
This is college, not high school.
I have no time for childish stereotypes: bad boys, bullies, and all the clichés.
This is the start of my musical dream, and I'm going to make the most out of these four years.
I felt a nudge at my side and looked up to see Nick peering down at me. "Come on. There's a lot more to cover," he said and began walking down the opposite side of the hallway.
I rushed after him to match his pace and we walked silently for a while.
"This is the student body office. Only members can get in." I read the inscription on the door and it read "Student Body Only."
We walked out of the building and further around the campus. He showed me the libraries, a few more classrooms, the cafeteria, and multiple fast-food booths around campus.
This school was much much bigger than I expected.
Because of my reluctance to come here, I hadn't done any research concerning this school. My mom was also the one who applied for the scholarship.
I sulked in my room all day long, all month long.
I stared at Nick who mostly stayed quiet throughout the tour unless he had to describe a particular place.
We were currently seated at a café in one of the coffee booths on campus. Nick had gotten us some iced coffee.
I played with the straw in my cup, pushing around the ice cubes, and then I cleared my throat loudly.
"So, what are you doing here anyway? I thought students weren't supposed to come in until next month?" I questioned the boy who silently sat in front of me, tapping the screen of his phone.
"Student Body President." He pointed a thumb to himself. "I have to come in on various days to show new students like yourself around." He answered, not taking his eyes off his phone.
I took a sip of my drink through the straw and continued to hold the conversation. "What year are you? Second?...Third? Clearly not a first."
He noisily dropped his phone on the table with a long sigh, and I couldn't help but notice the annoyed expression he held on his face.
Jeez. What's his problem?
"You're awfully chatty for someone who almost cursed me out like two seconds ago," he pointed out, folding his arms across his chest.
I scoffed. "I already apologized during the tour. I didn't take you as the type to hold grudges."
"I don't usually. But you somehow...bother me," he replied with that same smirk on his face.
I shot him a disgusted expression in return, and he let out laughter. I stared at him like he had lost it, but he placed his elbows on the table and leaned towards me.
"I've just concluded my third year. That means I have only a year left to spend with you. Too bad. You're very amusing."
Is he...flirting with me?
Ugh.
I leaned forward on my elbows, mimicking his action, and took the opportunity to properly observe him.
His curly tawny hair appeared a darker coffee brown in dimmer lighting out of the sun. His silver eyebrow piercing reflected the sunlight that shone through a widow beside us. A pair of similar silver earrings hung from his earlobes. His nose and lips were perfectly defined, and his face was equally chiseled.
He looked like he walked out of the front page of a Vogue magazine.
It's always the arrogant ones that are good-looking.
I raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. "What a shame. I'm not looking to spend any of my time with you."
He sucked in the air with his teeth and reclined into his seat. "You should be. Since we've met each other, I'll generously show you the ropes around here. It's a pretty competitive course," he placed a hand on his chest and offered with a smug expression.
I cocked my head to the side and took in what he said. I wasn't aware this school would be that competitive in performing arts. The tone in which Nick said that scared me a little.
Was I about to experience High School Musical instead of La La Land?
Well...it won't be a terrible idea to befriend a fourth-year. He's also the student body president, which means that I could receive some kinds of privileges for being close to him.
Okay. New goal: Befriend Smirky.
"Okay."
I agreed, happy I wasn't going to be diving headfirst into seemingly treacherous waters. Instead, I would make good use of this person. The smirk dug deeper into his face at my answer.
"I guess we can be acquainted," I added, before leaning backward, but he grabbed my wrist before I could fully sink into my seat.
"Oh, we can be more than acquainted." He winked at me. I visibly cringed and pulled my hand away from his hold.
"What I mean is that we can be friends. Not everyone can become friends so easily with Nick Mellon."
Nick perfectly fits the stereotype. I've met a fair share of people like him in my lifetime. It'll be easy handling him.
His name sounds a bit familiar though. I can't recall where I've heard it before.
"Don't you have tour guiding to do, Nick Mellon?" I asked him instead.
He chuckled and rose from his seat. A small smile unconsciously made its way to my face, and I had to erase it as fast as it appeared.
"Shall we?" He asked stretching his hands above his head. I picked my drink off the table and followed as he led me out of the building into another.
A good start to my college life so far.
~
"Luna! Could you go get groceries for tonight's dinner?!" My brother yelled from outside my door as I was decorating my study desk.
I groaned as I placed an orange highlighter into a cup already filled with different colored pens and pencils on the desk and got up from the chair.
Being the youngest in the family automatically means you're the errand child, and I could not refuse when they asked me to perform a task.
I pushed my reading glasses which I rarely wore, but needed whenever I had to read stuff, up the bridge of my nose and tucked my hands into my hoodie pockets.
I was currently dressed in black matching sweats and had my hair tied up in a very short, sharp ponytail.
It was even colder this evening, and so I hurried myself into the bright building. As I picked up a basket from the stack, I felt my pocket buzz.
I brought out my phone from my pants pocket and saw that it was a text from Joe. He sent a list of what was needed for dinner along with the personal items he needed. He also said that Mom was going to be home late, so we would have to figure out dinner ourselves.
We, meaning me.
"How much food do these people consume? I come here like every two days," I murmured tiredly, pushing the cell phone back into my pocket and walking along the aisles, searching for the items.
I got all that was needed and found myself standing where the fridges were situated. I stared at the see-through glass machines for a few seconds, suddenly reminded of Mac.
It's been almost a week again since we last met, and I hadn't really thought about him as much as I thought I would.
After the whole tour thing, I kind of maybe started liking that place a little. So that's taken up space in my brain.
Sighing, I placed my hand on the handle, just as another hand grabbed the same handle causing me to flinch from the contact.
"Oh, sorry. You can go ahead," I said, not looking at the person and moving to the side.
"Hey, stranger."
My eyes darted to the person beside me, and a smile immediately came onto my lips. "Hi, Mac."
He returned the smile and opened the door, picking up two cans of grape sodas.
"It's been a while," I said as we started walking to the cashier.
"Yeah. I've been a little occupied with a few things, and I have this project that I'm working on."
"Ooh, that's nice. My sister's currently working on something too. I just get excited whenever artists begin a new work. You never know what the finished product would look like till they're done," I rambled to him.
He stared at me with a small smile, and I averted my gaze, looking down at the basket in my hand.
"Would you like to see my painting when I'm done?"
I must've had stars in my eyes like an animated character as I looked back at Mac. I nodded my head frantically in response and said, "Totally!"
I'm a lover of arts, all kinds. Naturally, I'll want to see it.
We've met each other three times now, so we weren't exactly strangers anymore.
We both paid for our items and walked out of the building towards the familiar black vehicle. It's just the second time we're doing this, but it feels like this will soon be our little ritual.
I opened my soda can and it let out a fizz. I then clanked my can with Mac's and we drank our sodas in silence.
"Isn't it coincidental how we keep running into each other here?" Mac broke the silence first.
"Yeah. I thought we wouldn't really get to see each other, since we probably have different schedules and stuff," I replied, taking another sip of the bubbly drink.
"Same."
I let out a sigh and stared up at the sparsely dotted night sky. Strangely enough, my head seemed to clear off all thoughts whenever I looked at the stars.
"How are you liking it here so far?" Mac asked, breaking the silence yet again.
"Honestly, I thought I would hate it a lot more, but I'm slowly getting used to it."
"See, like I said, it grows on you like a stray cat. You suit this place."
I chuckled and turned to face him. "I suit this place? I think it's a little too early to say that. Who knows? I just might set the whole city on fire."
"Great idea. It's been way too quiet lately." Mac raised a thumb, urging my arsonist tendencies. I stared at him with a smile on my face.
Aside from being very mysterious, he seems to also have a laidback personality.
His helix and earlobe piercings, the rings he wore on his fingers, the sweatpants that had paint droplets splattered on them, and the tattoos on his knuckles; he's definitely the cool kid at school.
This town may be unfamiliar, but it sure has attractive people.
"You're staring, Luna."
I sharply turned my head away from him and nudged my glasses up my nose.
I could feel his eyes bore holes into the side of my head, so I blurted, "Hey, it's not my fault you're so pretty. Your face is like a sign that screams 'stare at me.'"
"I appreciate the compliment." He tucked some hair behind his ear, and my lips twitched, my eyes narrowing at him.
"You seem to be quite...ambiguous. Or maybe I just don't know you well enough."
"I don't think we ever fully understand ourselves. So I can't debunk your statement," he stated with a shrug.
That just proves my point even further.
When I look into those dark eyes, I see secrets, many secrets in them.
I don't think I've ever been this curious about a person before.