❝ weird science is just a movie, eli! ❞

―

THE SUNLIGHT CASCADED ON JULIANA'S FACE.

Even through her pink heart-shaped sunglasses, the rays from the sun were so bright that she had to squint in order to see. Juliana looked up at the new house that she would be calling home. It was her parent's dream house, and it was a far cry away from the place she used to call home and it sure was a lot hotter too.

Moving to Los Angeles from a small town in Minnesota that no one had ever heard of, where the average yearly temperature was only forty three degrees, the heat was something Juliana wasn't used to.

Juliana looked around the neighborhood as she tied her sweater around her waist. She had never seen so many houses that looked almost exactly the same. Her old neighborhood had been small, the with only a few roads to turn on and one tiny cul-de-sac where everyone knew each other. Everywhere Juliana looked, there were houses upon houses.

Juliana looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. A small smile appeared on her face when she saw two boys looking down at her from an upstairs window from the house next door. Juliana waved and gave them a smile. Panicked looks washed over their faces before they ducked their heads down and disappeared from Juliana's view. She chuckled as she shook her head and walked back over to the moving van.

"Juli, help me carry some of these boxes in."

Juliana grabbed a box from her father labeled 'Kitchen' in her mom's loopy handwriting and carried it into the house, placing it on the kitchen floor.

She walked back outside, glancing up at the window next door as her father handed her another box. The two boys had their heads peeking over the windowsill, staring down at her.

The process of moving in was so tedious that when Juliana finally had the chance to sit down, her heart was pounding against her chest and her breath was heavy and staggered. She sat on the porch, looking up at the sky. She had never seen a sky so blue or at least one that was so vivid.

"You're real..."

Juliana adverted her gaze from the sky, seeing the two boys who had been watching from the window standing in front of her. Juliana stood up. The boys watched her every movement as if she were the most fascinating thing they had ever laid their eyes on.

"You're actually real..." the taller of the two spoke.

Juliana chuckled, grinning at them. "Of course I'm real. Why wouldn't I be?"

They continued to stare, their eyes wide, so much to the point that Juliana thought they were going to bulge out of their sockets.

"I'm Juliana Morales," she stuck out her hand in front of them.

The two boys stared at her hand before sharing a glance with each other and then back at her hand. The taller one grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle shake.

"Demetri," he told her. "Alexopoulos. Demetri Alexopoulos."

He let go of her hand and nudged his friend in the side. The other boy reached for her hand, barely even touching it as he shook her hand and then quickly let go.

"E-Eli Moskowitz," he spoke softly.

Juliana smiled. "It's nice to meet you both."

The stares continued. Juliana raised an eyebrow at them, noticing that they were staring at her shirt. She looked down at her Star Wars shirt, clad with Darth Vader holding a red lightsaber.

"Oh, do you guys like Star Wars?" Juliana looked up at them. "It's one of my favorite movie series, after Harry Potter."

Demetri and Eli glanced at each other, shocked expressions on their faces.

"Judging from the shirt you're wearing," Juliana pointed to Demetri's shirt, "I assume you like Doctor Who? I just started watching it recently. I'm totally obsessed."

Eli's breath hitched and his body tensed up as he blinked multiple times. Demetri's jaw was agape, and his eyebrows raised, head slightly titled to the ground.

"You like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Doctor Who?" Demetri questioned her, voice full of disbelief.

Juliana nodded her head. "Yeah? Is it really that hard to believe?"

"Hey, Juli," Juliana turned her head around to see her mother standing in the doorway. "Your dad and I were just about to play a game of Trivial Pursuit while we wait for the pizza I ordered to arrive. You wanna join?"

"A game of Trivial Pursuit?" Juliana asked, crossing her arms on her chest, and smiling. "Are you and dad still determined to beat me? Don't you know by now that I'm the Trivial Pursuit champ?"

Juliana's mother laughed. "Who knows, maybe today will be the day when we dethrone you."

Juliana chuckled as she turned back around, looking at Demetri and Eli. Juliana didn't think that they could be anymore shocked than they already were, yet they had proven her wrong.

"Do you want to join us?" Juliana asked them.

Demetri shook his head wildly. "No, no, uh...we should probably get back to my house. It was nice meeting you."

Demetri grabbed Eli's arm and turned around, dragging him with him down the driveway and across the sidewalk. Juliana laughed quietly to herself before she walked inside her new home, shutting the door behind her.

────────────

Demetri was pacing back and forth in his room as Eli sat on his bed, following him with his eyes.

"I'm dreaming. I've got to be dreaming," Demetri spoke as he paced. "There is no way she's real! We made her up. We created a girl using a computer program that we coded after watching a movie. She can't be real!"

"Maybe we created her just like Wyatt and Gary did in the movie..." Eli suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

"Weird Science is just a movie, Eli!" Demetri threw his hands up in the air. "There's no way that we created a girl and then the very next day, she moves in next door to me. It's just not possible."

Eli shrugged again, fiddling with his fingers. "I don't know. Maybe we just got lucky, and she just so happens to like all the stuff we do."

Demetri shook his head, stopping his pacing and taking a seat next to Eli. "I just can't believe it. She even has the same name as the girl we made up. How is that possible?"

"I don't know, but we've got our perfect girl living next door to you and you're going to question it?" Eli asked him.

Demetri groaned as he leaned back on his bed. "I'm trying to find an explanation for this!"

Eli shifted his body so that he could see Demetri's face. "Maybe there is no explanation. Maybe we should just accept it."

Demetri sat up with a sigh. "I suppose you're right. Our dream girl lives next door. Why question it?"

Eli gave him a small smile as he stood up and walked over to the window. He looked down at the moving van parked in Juliana's driveway. He smiled as he thought about the fact that their dream girl was real. Eli didn't need an explanation. Juliana being real was enough.

────────────

Juliana glanced around the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. She gripped her lunchbox in her hand, grinning when she saw Demetri and Eli sitting by themselves at a table. She stood up straight and confidently walked to their table, taking a seat next to Demetri. Both boys turned to look at her.

"Hi!" Juliana greeted them cheerfully. "I hope it's okay that I'm sitting here."

Demetri shared a glance with Eli before turning to her once more. "You actually want to sit with us?"

Juliana chuckled and playfully hit him on the arm. "Of course, silly. Why wouldn't I want to sit here?"

"Because we aren't exactly popular?" Demetri answered as he shrugged. "You've practically signed away all hopes of getting into the popular crowd."

Juliana laughed. "Me? Popular? I couldn't even imagine hanging out with the popular crowd."

"Y—you can't?" Eli spoke quietly.

"Definitely not," Juliana opened her lunchbox, revealing a sandwich cut into the shape of a heart. "I'd much rather hang out with you guys."

Demetri and Eli both smiled at her. How much more perfect could she possibly get?

Juliana bit into her sandwich as a boy wearing a plaid flannel walked up to the table. "Is it cool if I sit here?"

"Ooh, sorry, table's really blowing up right now," Demetri responded. "I can put you on the waitlist, but it's probably next semester at the earliest."

Juliana swallowed her food as the boy started to walk away.

"He's just kidding!" Juliana laughed softly. "We'd love for you to join us."

The boy placed his tray down and took a seat next to Eli. "Miguel."

"Demetri," he introduced himself. "This is Eli."

Eli just nodded his head at him.

"He's a man of few words," Demetri told Miguel as he poked his food with his fork.

Juliana reached out her hand, holding it in front of Miguel. "And I'm Juliana. Fellow new kid."

Miguel hesitated to shake her hand. He just stared at her, a confused expression on his face as he questioned why a girl as beautiful as her was sitting here rather than with the popular crowd.

The table went silent for a moment until two girls walked by the table. Juliana followed them with her eyes, not turning around until she heard Demetri's voice.

"Dude, torture yourself," Demetri told Miguel. "Those are the rich girls."

"Do you ever talk to them or..." Miguel trailed off.

"Oh, yeah! All the time," Demetri responded sarcastically. "We hang out after school, make out, give each other hand jobs. Eli here is the homecoming king. Gets laid more than anyone. Isn't that right, Eli?"

Juliana couldn't help but laugh.

"Talk to them?" Demetri asked. "You realize what table you're sitting at, right? You've pretty much signed away all hope of losing your virginity before college."

"Oh, shit, Yasmine's looking at us," Eli said softly, his voice almost a whisper. "Probably just making fun of me."

Juliana turned her head. The pretty blonde girl who had walked past the table just moments ago was staring directly at the table. Juliana glared at her before turning back around.

"I don't think she's making fun of you," Miguel reassured him. "I mean, just because they're hot doesn't mean they're mean. Take Juliana for example, she's not mean."

"Are you saying I'm hot?" Juliana questioned.

Miguel stammered as he tried to form words. "I-I-I mean...I mean..."

Juliana giggled. "I'm just messing with you."

"I don't care if Yasmine is the meanest girl in school," Demetri spoke. "I'd kill both of you just to get her to spit in my face."

Juliana rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms against her chest as she turned around again, looking at Yasmine. She felt her fist clench as she saw Yasmine laugh as she looked in Eli's direction.

"Yeah, well, if you don't make a move, you're never gonna have a shot with her," Miguel told Demetri.

"True," Demetri replied, "but I'll also never suffer a humiliating rejection. I'm at peace with my depression. Last thing I need to be is suicidal."

Juliana continued to glare at Yasmine as Miguel stood up from his seat and began to make his way over to the popular table. He turned around when a group of boys sat down at the table. He took his seat again taking a sip of his drink.

Juliana stood up from her seat. It was her turn to walk up to the popular table, but for a completely different reason than Miguel. Juliana stood up straight, holding her head up high as she approached the table. They all stared at her as she placed her hands on the table and leaned forward, her gaze focused on Yasmine.

"Jasmine, is it?" Juliana asked.

"Yasmine."

"Right," Juliana replied. "I couldn't help but notice that you were making fun of my friend, Eli. Do you have nothing to do but make fun of others? Does it make you feel better about yourself?"

Yasmine scoffed. "I'm sorry. Who are you?"

Juliana gave her a fake smile. "Who I am doesn't matter to you. If I ever hear you talk about Eli again, I'll make sure that you regret it."

Yasmine and her friends laughed. "Yeah, right. Look, Pinkie Pie, you must be new here. So, let me set you straight. Those losers that you call friends are nothing. They're just that. Losers. Some silly little threat isn't going to do anything. You're nothing. You're a loser just like them."

Juliana clenched her jaw. "You think insulting me and calling me Pinkie Pie because I'm wearing pink is going to faze me? Think again, Big Bird."

Yasmine scoffed.

Juliana grabbed the carton of apple juice from the brunette girl's tray. "The only loser here is you."

Juliana stabbed the straw through the hole and squeezed the juice all over Yasmine's hair and face. Yasmine squeaked and scooted her chair back. Her friends were trying to stifle their laughter. Juliana gave Yasmine another fake smile before she turned on her heels and walked back to the table.

She picked up her sandwich and continued eating like nothing had happened. The three boys at the table stared at her with shocked expressions on their faces.

"What?" Juliana asked, her mouth full of food.

"Did you just stand up to Yasmine?" Demetri asked.

Juliana nodded. "Sure did. Girls like that need someone to bring them down a peg. Don't you think?"

Demetri and Eli nodded their heads as Juliana reached in her lunchbox, pulling out a bag of sour watermelon shaped Sour Patch Kids. She popped one in her mouth and chewed before taking a drink of the pink liquid in her clear bottle. Demetri and Eli could only assume that was pink lemonade.

When designing their perfect girl, pink lemonade and watermelon Sour Patch Kids were her favorites. It just kept on getting weirder.

— EMILIA'S NOTES

i love juliana with my entire heart. she is the love of my life and i would die for her.

the way she absolutely DEVOURED yasmine. APPLAUSE FOR JULIANA 👏👏👏

anyway, this chapter was very introductory & i tried to make it as interesting as possible so i hope it was good.