THE DAY I WOKE UP

LUCKY DAY

JULIAN'S FLASHBACK

I ride my bike to school every day, and as I parked it, waiting for Victor, I noticed the four girls arriving on their bikes. They stopped a little way from me and parked as well. I knew the names of three of them, but the fourth girl was still a mystery. However, from my observations, she wasn't as cold as the others. She seemed a bit friendlier—except, of course, to those who dared to pick on them.

The fourth girl had red hair with a scattering of freckles and slightly siren-like eyes. Like the others, she was undeniably beautiful. Her hair was styled into a Dutch braid, while the others wore messy buns or rough ponytails.

I decided to approach them, hoping—once again—to convince Georgina to tutor me. Maybe her friends weren't as intimidating as they seemed. Perhaps, if I played my cards right, I could even persuade her to help me out of sheer pity. Honestly, I wasn't sure why I was trying so hard to befriend her.

As I walked up, the red-haired girl noticed me first, followed by the rest.

"I guess you were lucky yesterday that you didn't get slapped, but you really push your luck too much, mister," Haley said.

Lisa scoffed, turning slightly to glance at me. "I can't guarantee you'll return home with all your limbs intact, Mr. Handsome."

Finally, Georgina spoke. "Look here, Mr. Millet, I alrea—"

"Hey, please, just don't keep attacking me! I'm not here to bully you guys or confess some undying love. I just need a favor and—honestly—I just want to get on your good side!"

"If you really want to be on our good side, you should get going, Mr. Millet."

"But I really am desperate to score well in computer class! Please, can you help me just this once?" Usually, I would have been annoyed, but no matter what, I just couldn't get angry at her.

The red-haired girl finally spoke up. "Are you really that desperate, man? By the way, I'm Maria."

The other three looked at her as if she had just committed some great betrayal.

She raised her hands in surrender. "Good manners, that's all."

Then, turning to me, she asked, "So, are you?"

"Uh... yeah."

They exchanged a silent conversation through eye contact, a full two minutes of unspoken understanding passing between them. Finally, Georgina spoke.

"I have extra classes after school, so—"

"The weekends are fine with me!" I interrupted, a little too eagerly.

"I can't waste my weekends on some dumb doofus," she replied, her tone sharp. "Lisa will teach you. She's much better at coding than I am." Then, she smirked and winked at Lisa.

They were plotting something—I just knew it. This wasn't how I wanted things to go. I had hoped for Georgina to tutor me, not Lisa. And Lisa... well, Lisa looked a bit scary. The last time I'd been afraid of a girl was when my older sister scolded me, but somehow, Lisa gave off the same terrifying vibe.

Still, I had no choice. I had dug my own grave.

I nodded frantically. "Yeah, totally okay with Lisa teaching me."

Lisa smirked. "4:30. The café down the street. Every day. But don't go running home crying after the first session."

With that, they walked away.

It felt like I had just signed a deal with the devil.

Victor arrived just in time to slap me on the back—hard—and burst into hysterical laughter. I tried to act as if I had no connection to him because people were starting to stare.

Once he was done laughing, I glared at him. "What was that for?"

"For being a total wimp, idiot."

He started mimicking me. "'I'm really desperate to score well in computer class, please, please!' Dude, you sounded like you were desperate for her attention."

I cleared my throat dramatically. "For your kind information, I got an appointment with Lisa every day at 4:30."

Victor's laughter stopped instantly. "What did you just say? With Lisa?"

"Yeah. Georgina said she had extra classes and couldn't waste her weekends on me, so Lisa agreed to tutor me. Turns out my plan backfired."

Victor gave me an incredulous look. "Dude, seriously? Have you ever seen Georgina take extra classes after school? Are you actually an idiot, or are you just pretending? She just used that as an excuse! She clearly didn't want to deal with you."

I groaned. "What do you suggest I do, then?"

"I do have a plan—but first, let me ask you something."

"Hmm?"

"You like her, don't you?"

"Wha—what? No, no, I'm just curious about her! I just want to be friends. It's just... I've never met a girl like her before. She's more like a... a mystery or something."

Victor smirked. "Just plain curiosity?"

"Yup."

"Plain curiosity doesn't make a guy go love-sick, idiot."

"I AM NOT LOVE-SICK, VICTOR!" I whisper-yelled at him.

He smirked even wider. "You'll need a better lie next time, my friend. Just admit it—you like her."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now, what about this so-called plan of yours?"

"Admit that you have feelings for Anderson, and then I'll tell you my award-winning plan."

"VIC—"

"Oh, and by the way, I'm sticking with you for your tutoring sessions with Lisa. After all, she was my target. You go get yours." He winked and ran off to flirt with some girls.

"VICTOR KINCAID! GET YOUR ASS TO CLASS WITHIN TEN MINUTES IF YOU DON'T WANT DETENTION FROM MRS. BELL!" I yelled after him.

"YEAH, YEAH, WHATEVER!"

Such a carefree idiot. He always made me cover for him when he was late. But now that I thought about what he said... did I really have feelings for a girl I barely knew? A girl who had hated me before she even got to know me? As much as I hated to admit it, Victor was usually spot-on when it came to relationships.

Did I really like her?

I pushed the thought out of my head as I made my way to class. Mrs. Bell, our homeroom teacher, was already there. If there were an award for the teacher who gave out the most detentions, she'd win it without contest.

After Some Time

It was finally time for my favorite class—Computer Science. And now, with Georgina in that class, it had become even better.

I arrived early, dragging a whining Victor along. As the class filled up, I kept glancing at the door, waiting for Georgina and Lisa.

They were late. And the only two seats left were beside Victor and me.

Victor and I exchanged glances, understanding exactly what needed to be done. We shifted seats so that Georgina and Lisa would have to sit together—right next to me.

"I guess you guys can sit next to each other now," I said innocently.

Georgina rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Mr. Millet."

"It's Miller. Julian Miller."

She scoffed. "You think I don't know that?"

As class started, I kept glancing at her. After a while, she slid me a note.

Stop staring, weirdo.

Embarrassed, I scribbled back. I wasn't staring at you—I was looking out the window.

She rolled her eyes and wrote, Whatever. You'll fail this class if you keep staring instead of paying attention.

I forced myself to focus. Then, Mrs. Wilton announced a group assignment—teams of four.

And just my luck—Victor, Lisa, Georgina, and I were in the same group.

Could this day get any better?