Perfect Oblivious

Chapter 2: Surreal Blur

The dream dissolved, fading into nothingness as the sound of Alexa's alarm jolted her awake. 5:30 AM. The harsh beeping cut through the quiet, pulling her back to reality. With a groggy sigh, she turned off the alarm, and felt disappointed that the romantic moment between her and the mysterious soldier guy ended.

"Life, why did you have to bring me back to life? It was so perfect" she asked while pinching herself, hoping she could revisit the dream. But nothing happened.

A supposed short-lived love story, a thrilling escape from danger—it was all too good to be true, just like every other vivid fantasy her mind had conjured. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and sat up, the cool morning air brushing against her skin. Today was the day. Her first day at East High School as a freshman. Alexa groaned softly, rubbing her eyes. She wasn't ready for this in any way that mattered.

Shuffling over to her closet, she absentmindedly grabbed the first set of clothes her hands landed on. She didn't care what she wore, not today. Thinking back to her dream she spoke quietly, "Should've known all this could only be in my head. I'll never find anyone special like that. This could only happen if I were living in a fictional world."

Her mind was already racing ahead, wondering, dreading what high school life was going to be like. On the outside, she could play it cool, like it was just another day. She could convince herself that it was all a walk in the park—nothing special, just the start of a long, boring routine. But inside, where her deepest thoughts refused to stay quiet, she knew better. She was nervous. Maybe even petrified.

Middle school had been... mixed, to say the least. There were a handful of nice people she had crossed paths with, but most of her memories were clouded by the faces of those who had been mean, fake, or simply indifferent. Some had treated her like an outsider, others with casual cruelty, and a few, like snakes hiding behind smiles, waiting for the right moment to strike. The sting of those experiences hadn't faded, and now, standing on the threshold of high school, she couldn't help but feel that familiar anxiety clawing at her.

What if it's the same all over again? Would I be able to handle it any better?

Alexa's gut twisted with that thought, but she shook it off, trying to push it to the back of her mind. She wanted to believe things would be different this time. Better, even. But her intuition whispered otherwise, casting a shadow over the faint hope she clung to. Still, she forced herself to ignore it. What choice did she have?

After finishing her morning routine, Alexa grabbed her plain blue backpack—one her mom had bought with some reluctance, thinking Alexa deserved something flashier for her first day of high school. But Alexa preferred simple and unnoticed. She stepped outside, greeted by the darkness that still clung to the early morning. She frowned, groggy and irritated, wondering why high school had to start at such an ungodly hour. The sky hadn't even begun to lighten yet, and she felt the weight of sleep still tugging at her eyes. But she pushed on, determined to stay awake as she walked toward the bus stop down the street. It didn't take long for the bus to arrive. She and two other students, equally bleary-eyed, hopped on quickly before it rumbled off to the next stop. Alexa leaned her head against the cool glass of the window, her mind wandering until the bus finally reached East High School. As it pulled up, dozens of students streamed off the bus, bustling into the school grounds. Suddenly, her mind kicked into gear, the haze of sleep lifting as the reality of her first day began to settle in.

Her first class was biology, with a teacher named Mrs. Baugh. Alexa wasn't sure what to expect, but she'd envisioned a class filled with endless worksheets and dry handouts, the typical routine that she had grown used to from middle school. But as she walked in, the teacher was nowhere to be seen.The classroom filled with the hum of students, some chatting nervously, others glued to their phones. Ten minutes passed, and just when Alexa thought something might be wrong, Mrs. Baugh finally walked in. She was a woman in her 30s, her curly brown hair looking like it hadn't seen a comb in a while. Slight wrinkles lined her eyes, dark circles forming under them, hinting at the exhaustion of motherhood. She casually dropped her bag on the desk and smiled in a way that was both half-heartedly friendly and a little tired.

"Well, good morning, guys. Thanks for waiting for me," she said, her tone almost bubbly but with a mechanical edge, like she had rehearsed this greeting too many times. "Just ran a little late 'cause my little one was keeping me around for a while."

She opened her laptop, clicked a few times, and projected a PowerPoint onto the screen. The title was something generic like Welcome to Biology! Alexa could already tell it was going to be one of those boring introduction lessons teachers did on the first day. Mrs. Baugh turned to face the class, clapping her hands together before speaking.

"Okaaaay, before we dive into biology, I just wanna say a few things I expect from you in my class. Number one, just don't be a butthead. Like, really—if you're a butthead, you're going to have a harder time in my class. Second, it's literally impossible to fail my class. You just need to put in the work." 

The room went silent for a moment. Some students glanced at each other, confused or amused by her bluntness. A few stifled laughs, while others remained glued to their phones, clearly unimpressed. Alexa raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of this woman who spoke so casually, as if she didn't care whether her class was taken seriously or not.

Mrs. Baugh, satisfied that her quirky introduction and class rules had sunk in, clicked her remote to advance the slides. "Okie dokie. So, as you all know, I'm Mrs. Baugh, your biology honors teacher. Yay!" she chirped with a grin, though the excitement in the room was lukewarm at best. She carried on enthusiastically, "I've been teaching here for over ten years. I've got three kids—one daughter and two sons. My daughter is a premed student at CMU, my older son's in middle school, and my youngest... Isn't he adorable?" She pointed to the family pictures now displayed on the board. "Oh, and that's my husband. See him there? And here's my little doggie! This is us at Niagara Falls!"

Mrs. Baugh paused, letting the last of her photos linger on the screen before switching gears. "Alright, let's get to know each other a bit. In your groups, I want you to introduce yourselves and tell each other what you did over the summer."

The girls at Alexa's table turned inward, already engrossed in conversation with each other. One of them, Charlotte, tossed her perfectly styled black hair over her shoulder and, with a self-satisfied smirk, announced, "So, you guys, I'm Charlotte, but you already know that since we're all friends." Charlotte was an attractive 10/10 girl,  with her large everglade green eyes and Snow White-like complexion. She was clearly the center of her group, and everyone else followed suit.

Charlotte beamed, "I went to the salon this summer. Do you like my new hair?"

The compliments came flying in instantly. "Like it? I love it," one girl said, admiringly. "You totally nailed it with the black."

"You look like Snow White! But even prettier, Charlotte," another complimented.