chapter 1

       I stare at my new school uniform, trying to decide which clothing options to where today. There are a few choices so we're not forced to wear the same thing every time; there's dark grey gingham slacks, a white-button up shirt, a navy blue blazer, a navy blue sweater vest, a navy blue sweater, and a blue and white stripped tie.

       With it being mid-September on the west coast, it's still a bit warm during the day so I don't want to use the blazer just yet. I settle with the sweater vest, taking it off its hanger. I don't have that much time left to get ready and I would rather not be late on my first day at my new school, especially since it's a private school.

       I get changed into my new uniform, then stare at myself in the full-length mirror in my new bedroom. I look different. I feel different. I don't even know if I'll fit in at this school, but my grandparents insisted on paying the tuition for me. And maybe it would be good for me. I'll be at a brand new school away from my old life, and this high school is one of the best on the west coast. Surely, it would help set me up for post-secondary.

       I walk over to my bedroom window, pushing aside the curtains to take a look outside. I haven't visited my grandparents' in four years since my family moved away from this neighbourhood, so it's hard to get used to the fact that I live her again.

       It's a beautiful neighbourhood. All the front yards are kept neat and tidy, though each still has their unique touch, whether it be through their garden or lawn ornaments. My grandparents themselves love gardening, so their front yard has the most beautiful garden with all sorts of colourful flora.

       I'm about to close the blinds so I can finish getting ready for school, but then I catch sight of the house directly across the street. The front door opens and out walks Zali Summers, dressed in the same school uniform as me, sans the sweater vest. He opted for the blazer.

       I haven't seen him since we were thirteen when I had to move away at my dad's insistent. I never understood why Dad wanted us to move away when this is a great neighbourhood to live in I never go a full explanation.

       Zali has definitely grown a lot since I last saw him. I'm only seeing him from a small distance, but he looks tall. At least taller than I am. I haven't had the chance to go talk to Zali since I moved here. I don't even know if I will try talking to him. I would like to, but we haven't been best friends for four years. We're definitely not the same people we were when we were thirteen, so our personalities now might just clash.

       I close the curtains, stepping away from the window. I grab my school bag and leave my bedroom, heading downstairs. I smell some eggs and bacon being cooked in the kitchen, but unfortunately, I don't have the time. Maybe I should have woken up earlier.

       I still head into the kitchen, mainly to see my grandparents and Mom before I head off to school. Mom is sitting at the counter on a bar stool and when she sees me, she smiles. "Good morning, George. Grandma and Grandpa made breakfast. You hungry?"

       "I am, but I should get going," I say. "I want to get to school early enough to figure out where everything is."

       "But that's what the tour you took yesterday was for," Grandma says. "Ah, well, here." She reaches into a cookie jar and pulls two twenty dollar bills, then hands it to me. "You can get yourself some breakfast at school and some lunch too."

       "Thanks," I say, taking my wallet out of my backpack and putting the bills in there. My grandparents have basically been showering me with money ever since Mom and I moved in with them, even if I keep telling them I don't need any.

       I say goodbye to my mom and grandparents before leaving the house. I get into my car, which my grandparents also bought a few days ago. They say it's to make up for everything that happened the past few weeks with my dad and siblings.

        I drive to my new school and once I pull into the parking lot, I already start to feel out of place. Most cars in the parking lot are clearly expensive cars, so it's clear most of the students, if not all, come from rich families.

       I mean, had it not have been for my grandparents, I probably wouldn't be able to afford to go here.

       I get out of my car and make my way inside of the school. I did have a tour of the school yesterday, but it only showed where the facilities were. Not exactly where all my classes were, so I'm going to have to figure that out.

       Before I do that, I head to the school's cafe to get some coffee and something to eat. And by cafe, I don't mean cafeteria. I mean an actual cafe. The school does have a cafeteria, and that has a lot of different food stalls to have more food options than other high schools normally have.

       I get myself a coffee and a blueberry muffin before trying to find out where my classes are. I reach into my pocket to pull out my cell phone so I can get my class schedule and information. Unfortunately. I'm not paying attention to where I'm walking as I look at my phone so I end up bumping into someone.

       And spilling my coffee all over them.

       "I am so sorry!" I say, staring directly at the coffee stain on the white shirt. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

       "No, it's fine," the person I bump into says. "I should have been watching where I was going too. Luckily I keep an extra set of my uniform just in case."

       I look up and see that the person I bumped into is none other than my childhood best friend. He's looking at his shirt so he hasn't noticed that I'm the one who bumped into him. I don't even know if he would recognize me. The only reason why I recognized him when I saw him leave his house this morning is because my grandparents told me his family still lives there.

       "Zali?" I ask.

       Zali looks away from his shirt and at me. He looks shocked to see me, then his eyes turn cold for some reason. "Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?"

       "I moved back to the neighbourhood," I say. "I've been wanting to say hi."

       "Well, it's a good thing you didn't."

       I frown. "You seem mad at me for some reason."

       "Mad? I'm not mad."

       "You sound mad."

       "Maybe because you moved away and didn't keep in touch with me when we were best friends."

       "Seriously? I told you I was moving away and my dad didn't want to give me a cell phone so it was kind of hard to keep in touch with you. I didn't even get a phone until my sixteenth birthday."

       "So what? You think that we would be best friends forever again now that you're back here?"

       "What? No. All I said was I've been wanting to say hi. I didn't expect us to go back to how we were when we were thirteen. I just didn't expect you to be so pissy about it."

       Before Zali can say anything else in reply, some guy walks over to us and wraps his arm around Zali's waist. "Is everything okay, babe?" he asks. Huh. As it turns out, both Zali and I ended up being, well, not straight.

       "Yeah, everything's fine," Zali says.

       His boyfriend points to the coffee stain on his shirt, then gestures to me. "Did this guy spill that on you?"

       "It was an accident," I say. "I really am sorry."

       "It's... whatever," Zali says. "Like I said, I have a spare uniform."

       "Okay," I say. "I guess... I'll see you around, Zali."

       I turn to walk away, but I stop when Zali's boyfriend says, "Uh, I don't know who you are, but he doesn't like to be called Zali. Not even by me and I am, you know, his boyfriend. So use his full name, got it?"

       "Alright, sorry," I say, walking away from the two of them. Not the best start to my first day at this school, but maybe things will be better. I guess I just can't bank on having a friendship with Zali at this point, but that's life, I guess. Not everyone is meant to stay in your life forever, especially with the way things have been going in my life the past few weeks.

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here it is, the first chapter! i'm so excited for this book hehe. i hope you all enjoy it!