Lost Now, Found Later

Chapter 1 - Rachel's POV

"Rachel?...Rachel?...RACHEL!!" Liz yells into my ears.

"Oww!! I was listening you dumbass" I glare at my best friend, Elizabeth Harper, rubbing my ears which were in pain.

"Dude you weren't. I would've known because you were busy staring at Arjun and dreaming about him" she replies with a teasing smile. I look over my shoulder to see Arjun sitting in the front of the classroom with his friends.

"Okay I admit. I was staring at him. BUT I was not dreaming about him"

I've had a crush on Arjun Kumar for two years and I will carry this secret to my grave. Ever since I've told this to Liz, she's been teasing me about it.

"Sureeee you weren't. Anyways as I was saying, our project is due next week. We have to get started this weekend."

Her words remind me of the dreadful math project that we had to work on. You would think that we seniors would not have any work after the AP exams. I thought so too but turns out, I was so wrong. Our teacher had assigned us a project of learning the next few chapters of Calculus and making a presentation on it.

I roll my eyes and groan as I think about the huge amount of textbook reading I'd have to do. "Why is our lives like this? Don't we deserve some rest after taking the traumatizing AP exams?" I whine to Liz who nods sympathetically.

"I know right? It's like they want torture us. I can't wait till we graduate and go off to college where I can plan my own schedule" she sighs.

"Movie nights in the weekends. Deal?" I shoot a knowing look. She laughs and nods excitedly.

We both committed to the same college, Brown University. Unfortunately, so did Arjun and his two best friends, Ethan Lin and Mason Steele. I know of them because we shared a few classes over the years but I never talked to them. I pray silently that I never run into them on campus next year or anywhere in the future.

"Okay class, settle down. I'll be taking attendance and then you're off working on your projects in pairs or in a group of three." Our teacher announces and soon Liz and I start working on our project and complete a decent amount of research through the hour. The bell rings after what seems like an eternity, signaling the start of lunch.

"Dudee I am so hungry! I used up too much brain power for that project" Liz complains while we walk. I chuckle at her antics. "Let's go get lunch. I'll go find us a seat first" I inform her and we head towards the cafeteria.

HA! I spot an empty desk. I quickly rush there and place my backpack on the chair. As I turn to head towards the lunch line, I see Arjun approach the desk he usually sits in along with his friends. I stay at my spot and stare as I see a girl run up and hug him, which he returns. Surprisingly instead of jealousy, a wave of sadness washed over me as I wished I could have been in her place.

Arjun had been dating a girl named Valentina Anderson since senior year started and having to deal with seeing them together on a daily basis was not exactly easy. Ignoring them, I walked over and joined Liz.

Luckily, the rest of the day went by like a breeze and I headed home after school.

"YOU'RE BACK!" a little yet loud voice welcomes me as I enter my house. I looked down to see my little sister, Jasmine, clinging to my leg like a koala.

"Jazzie what've you been doing?" I ask as I ruffle her hair playfully. I place my backpack on the chair and throw myself onto couch, melting into it.

"I just finished reading a book for my English class. I'm going to help mom bake some cookies now. Bye!" she proudly states and hops away into the kitchen where my mother is. Following her, I walk over and join them.

"Hey mom, looking very organized I see" I tease as I look around the kitchen to see flour and sugar sprinkled over the surfaces and some chocolate chips on the floor.

"Hey sweetie how was school? And as for this situation, someone said its not baking unless there's some mess in the kitchen" she replies nonchalantly. I chuckle and grab some towels to wipe off the mess.

"School was okay I guess. Liz and I started working on our math project. I honestly don't understand why teachers have to assign us projects even after the AP exams are over" I complain. And seeing Arjun with Valentina didn't really help I thought but didn't say it out loud. Even though my mom knew that I liked him, I didn't want to bother her with my sour mood.

"They do that make sure you retain the knowledge until you graduate and go off to college sweetie. Plus your school ends next week. Not too far" she tells me while patting my head affectionately. I smile at her and sigh, praying that next week comes quickly.

"I'm going to take a shower and work on the project a little. I'll join you guys for dinner." I say and walk towards my room with my backpack, but not before stealing some chocolate chips.

As I was showering, I thought back about when I saw Valentina and Arjun together. Why did I even like Arjun in the first place? I'm sure I was the only person who had a crush on someone for no reason. Shaking those thoughts off, I finished up and started working on my project.

Few Hours Later

I check my phone and see that it was 7.34PM. Damn, I was actually productive for once. I text Liz about my progress and head to the kitchen to help Mom set the table. The doorbell rings suddenly and I walk over to open it.

"Daddd you're late today" I say when I see my dad at the door.

"Tell me about it. We had a client over for a brief meeting which turned out to be anything but brief. I was falling asleep" he complains and I let out a small laugh. I love that my dad and I were similar in that we were quick to fall asleep when something's boring.

"Well I think you should be allowed to sleep considering you're one of the superiors you know?" I suggest jokingly. He worked in an architecture firm where he was the Senior Partner. He returns home at 6PM usually but there are times where he's late.

"Right?! That's what I thought too" he replies with playful smile.

"DADDY!" Jazzie comes running through and jumps onto my dad and hugs him.

He picks her up and carries her over to the kitchen when he kisses my mother in the forehead. Mom smiles at him and signals him to take a shower and join us for dinner.

We have dinner as a family while watching a movie. We spend the night snacking on the cookies my mom baked and finishing up the movie. When it was over, I see that Jazzie and my mom were already asleep. Dad and I look at each other and let out a small quiet laugh. After getting them back to their rooms, we both head to bed. I close my eyes and fall asleep, thinking about how grateful I am to have such a loving family.

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1253 words!!

Hi!! This is my first chapter. I focused mainly on introducing characters and Rachel's family. I will focus more on the other characters in the following chapters. Thank you!!

Just an announcement: Content related to mentioned universities are not entirely true. They are partially fictional. Please do not consider them to be factual. Thank you!!