A Normal Highschool Love Story

Chapter 1:A DIFFERENT WORLD

There’s something oddly comforting about the silence of a library. The scent of old pages, the dim lighting, and the subtle hum of the ceiling fans – it’s the kind of place where I felt in control. It was my world. And in this world, I was untouchable.

I was known as the topper. The one who always had the highest grades, the answer to every question, and, more often than not, the one people asked for help right before exams. Not that I minded. School had always been easy for me, and my social life… well, there wasn’t much of one. I wasn’t the type to stand out. I preferred blending into the background, unnoticed, where I could bury myself in my books and routines.

My friends, if you could even call them that, didn’t get it. They thought I was weird for choosing extra study time over going to parties or skipping classes. But that’s just who I was—Minkuu, the quiet, studious guy in the back of the class, who kept to himself, avoided drama, and found solace in predictability.

Except for one thing: Isha.

Isha wasn't just another girl in school. She was *the* girl in school. The kind of girl everyone noticed without her trying. She had long, dark hair that fell in soft waves down her back, her skin always glowing with a warmth that made you feel like she had a secret she wasn’t telling. Her laugh, the one that echoed through the corridors, was like a mix of confidence and mischief. She didn’t care about rules. She didn’t care about grades. And most of all, she didn’t care about people like me.

Isha didn’t just dislike toppers—she despised them. I remember one afternoon, I was sitting in class, quietly reviewing notes, and I overheard her talking to her friends. "Toppers are so boring," she said, rolling her eyes. "They think life is all about good marks. They don’t know how to have fun. It’s like they’re living in some other world, you know?" Her friends giggled in agreement, and I shrank a little further into my seat. I wasn’t sure why it bothered me so much. She didn’t even know me, not really. But her words cut deeper than I expected.

Still, no matter how much she dismissed people like me, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. There was something about her that drew me in, even though I knew we were complete opposites. Maybe it was her confidence, the way she never seemed afraid to be herself. Or maybe it was the way she seemed to light up the room, making everything around her feel more alive.

I found myself stealing glances at her during class, noticing the smallest details—the way she twirled a strand of her hair when she was bored, or how she leaned back in her chair with an almost careless grace. I wondered what it would be like to talk to her, to know her beyond the surface. But I was too shy, too scared. What would a girl like her even want with a guy like me?

We lived in different worlds. I was the type who spent lunch breaks in the library, and she was the one surrounded by friends, laughing about something I’d never understand. I was predictable. She was unpredictable. I followed the rules. She seemed to make her own. It was almost like we existed on opposite sides of a coin.

And yet, despite everything, I found myself thinking about her more than I should. I couldn’t stop the butterflies that fluttered in my chest whenever she walked by. It was ridiculous, really. I knew nothing would ever happen between us, but I couldn’t help myself. I was drawn to her like a moth to a flame, even though I knew I’d probably get burned.

There was something about her… something I couldn’t ignore.

One day, as I was sitting at my usual desk in the back of the classroom, Isha strolled in, her bag slung lazily over her shoulder, chatting with her friends. She glanced around the room, her eyes briefly landing on me. My heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, I thought maybe—just maybe—she’d noticed me. But then her gaze moved on, and I was invisible again.