Lost Stars

i. andromeda

It all started in room 308, where all the seats were abnormally set in the form of a circle with one special chair in the middle for the counselor. That was where Elle was sent, when her teachers thought that her existential way of thinking was getting out of hand.

It was the same old dialogue playing in her head like a looped track:

Why am I even here?

What's the point of going through all of this if we were just going to disappear in a few years like we never even existed?

Am I wasting my life sitting in this chair in front of a rambling teacher?

Will life ever make sense to me?

Why am I alive?

Elle wasn't suicidal at all, if that was what you were thinking. She was just part of the dying breed who actually thought of things that mattered, instead of the conventional high school trends like losing your virginity and learning how to french kiss with a boy.

She stared at the metal plaque before the silver knob that demanded to be twisted. And as soon, as her hand touched that doorknob, she felt like this was going to be the worst thing she could experience in her entire. She had a vision that it would bring her an abnormal mixture of confusion, agitation, irritation and spontaneity that would give her the most unexpected potion of the most beautiful but short-lived happiness in her life

The room was definitely something she would have to get used to. The windows were wide open and allowed the fresh wind and joyous sunlight to enter, which was a massive contrast for a girl who chose to drown in the darkness with her body flat on her bed as she stared at the ceiling with a chaotic order of thoughts destroying the corners of her mind. There was also a bit more students than she expected, as they filled the entire circle besides two that were cold and empty.

"Hello, you must be Ms. Martin. Welcome to the circle; a place free of judgement and boundaries." And immediately, Elle wanted to run out of the room and never look back. But instead, she stood there with her widened eyes expressing the awkwardness she felt as she stared at the blonde and bubbly twenty-something girl, who made her position clear as the prissy and cheerful counselor.

She looked around the room and notice that she only had two options on where she was going to sit, whilst tolerating all of the emotions and confessions that she knew was coming and how much she couldn't deal with. One chair was sat next to a girl nibbling on the ends of her brunette ponytail, maybe a bit too much. The other chair was positioned next to a boy that buried his face in his hoodie with his pale face staring out of it like an asylum patient.

And she made the very difficult choice of sitting next to the weird boy.

"Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Ms. Johnson, and welcome to the school year's first circle meeting. How about we start with a bit of an introduction." Ms. Johnson started the circle by pointing to the first person to her left as she started the domino effect of self-introductions.

"My name is Ryan Turner, and I am here because I have a serious stalking problem." He looked like a dysfunctional teen hiding behind a boyish smile.

"My name is Sandra Lewis, and I am here because people tell me that I am such a liar, which I'm not." She was clearly doubting her words through the nervous chuckle she gave off.

"My name is Cedric Burns, and the reason that I am here is because people say that I have psychotic facial features." It was the boy to her side, and his odd introduction made her scoot her chair a few scrapes towards the hair-nibbling girl, now seeing that she must have been a better choice.

And finally, all anticipation fell on the next person's introduction.

"My name is Elle Martin, and I am here because my teachers forced me to." Elle said with a sense of sophisticated disrespect in her voice that earned everyone's eyes to land on her, as well as Ms. Johnson's clear surprise as being the recipient of her disrespect in a shallow pool of obedient lunatics.

Then suddenly, the door swung open.

"Finally, someone who understands me." Someone finally got the awkward attention off of Elle and threw it onto himself. She watched him jump up and graze the top of the doorframe with his fingertips and admired immediately how he radiated a different kind of recklessness, whilst topping her subtle rudeness with his obvious one.

Ms. Johnson was cracking, and they weren't even thirty minutes into the circle. Her fake expressions finally subsided to reveal a glimpse of the most deranged one of the bunch that was getting very impatient, but it was only expressed through a very audible exhale.

"Mr. Kingston, what a pleasure that you could join us today." Ms. Johnson sarcastically greeted him, but her sarcasm was snubbed before the final empty position of the circle was filled, which was coincidentally right beside Elle. Maybe, she could finally thank him for averting everyone's attention.

"Thanks." Elle finally whispered after a few moments of tension and working up the nerve to talk to him. She looked at this boy, and he was absolutely beautiful.

Everything about him was perfection. He had a dramatic gaze that looked onto the horizon. His lips were pressed into a thin line, but it just made you all the more curious at what he had to say. His face was naturally contoured, courtesy of the gods above. His clothes were just the right mixture of class and youth, and his hair was an earthy shade of brown that looked messy, but it added to his charismatic demeanor.

"You're welcome." He turned his head towards her and gave her a smile.

She's seen him around before. Jack Kingston. He was always one to isolate himself, making sure that no one stood within a fifty meter radius. He was probably a bigger mystery than Amelia Earhart's disappearance on her voyage over the Atlantic. They never talked, but she knew that he was the type that liked to keep all of his secrets to himself, but that's what made him a total spectacle for her.

Ms. Johnson didn't really do a lot of talking, mostly she would redirect questions back to everyone.

There was a girl with short black hair who looked fairly homicidal while talking about how she and her brother fought with knives, and she looked like she enjoyed it.

"Now, I know what Snow White would look like, if she went mad." Elle scoffed to herself. It was a pitiful scene to watch all of these poor souls feed Ms. Johnson; she looked more rejuvenated with each problem that met her ears.

But, she didn't expect to hear a humorous chuckle beside her. It was Jack. It was definitely a sight that one could definitely admire because it rarely ever happened, and only a few fortunate people had the amazing opportunity to see this beauty.

"I like your smile." Elle whispered to him. His head immediately turned to her and reflected her expression of fascination. No girl has ever acted this way in front of him. The only girls that he has ever been exposed to were the ones that would try to get a fling, but Elle was genuinely unique to him.

"Thanks. I know that I don't do it that often." He shied away from her and dropped his head, and she immediately realized that everything she has heard about him was a total lie.

"Well, you should." Elle would never be this bold with just a stranger, but somethings about him was exquisitely magnetic that it lured in her full attention.

"Is there something you would like to share with everyone?" Ms. Johnson asked the both of them, and all the eyes once again fell on Elle and Jack. The anxiety flooding her thoughts forced her to cover her face with her hands.

"We were just talking about the amount of bleach you've poured on your hair, Ms. Johnson." Jack smiled as his bitter words punched her, and Ms. Johnson had a lovely scowl on her face once again.

"I think that will be all for today class." Ms. Johnson declared her instant hatred for the unconventional duo by standing up and walking out of the room.

Elle couldn't care less at what the counselor thought about her, and she was super eager to have another conversation with this unique specimen. But before she could pipe out another word, he looked at her with an infuriated face and repelled away from her by storming out of the room.

sorry if this was total bull, but first chapters are supposed to suck. pinky promise that it will get better. <3