The Lyndsor Story

Chapter One: Just a Simple Hello

"Honey, get up! You're going to be late!"

I wiped my eyes and slid out of my bed. It was finally Friday, and I was thankful to see the weekend. After laying out my outfit; a pink floral dress with matching cardigan and white sandals, I got in the shower. Ugh, I was going to need plenty of foundation to cover the bags under my eyes. What even is a normal sleep schedule nowadays? I had been up late nearly every night this week finishing papers and labs for my college classes, while finishing minor assignments for my high school classes. I blow dried my highlighted blonde hair, put on my makeup, and gathered my bags. My parents had already left for work. '

Pulling up to King Richard High, I felt ready to go home. But, today was the big student body election. And, I had my eye on the presidential spot. I locked my little blue mini cooper and made my way to my locker. The hallways were bustling with their usual 8am traffic. My best friend, Kylie, wasted no time in finding me.

"Willow! You'll never guess what the polls are looking like!"

I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Well, spill it!" I exclaimed

"You're crushing Laura Evans by thirty two percent! Hello, Miss. Class President!"

I slammed my locker door and we made our way to the library, since we didn't have a class.

Kylie was busy babbling away about finding a homecoming date but I found myself tuning her out. I took out my phone and scrolled down my Instagram feed. It felt like everybody was either getting together, breaking up, engaged, or pregnant. My notifications lit up with a new follower request.

"@ryland_humphries03 has requested to follow you."

I scrolled through his feed. His bio said he was from Tyson, which is a county maybe forty five minutes south from here. I hadn't been in a relationship for three months, after ending it with Derek Jamerson, the senior track star. Ryland was built, with chestnut hair and olive skin. Cute, I thought to myself. I accepted the request and followed back.

The day dragged on until last block, where everyone was called to the auditorium for the election results. Kylie and my other close friend Danielle sat on either side of me on the front row. Our principal took the stage.

"Class of 2017, your senior student body election results are finally in! It is my honor to welcome your new president to the stage, Miss Willow Norwood!" Principle Stevens exclaimed

The auditorium exploded with applause as I made my way up the stage stairs.

"Class of 2017, thank you for electing me as your president. I promise to strive to make it the best last year possible. Please don't hesitate to approach me with your ideas. I'm here to voice your opinions! Let's make this our year. Thank you!" I waved and smiled and made my way off the stage to my friends as the last bell rang. Derek shot me an awkward half smile as he passed me, on the way to his new cheerleader girlfriend, Jessica. Kylie and Danielle immediately wrapped me in a hug.

"Sooo, girls night to celebrate?" Danielle asked

"Uhh, maybe tomorrow night, you guys. I honestly just wanna go home and sleep." I answered

They both rolled their eyes and we made our way out to the senior parking lot. We said our goodbyes as I got in my car to leave. As I started the car, my phone vibrated with a new Instagram direct message.

"@ryland_humphries03: hey beautiful, I'd love to get to know you better."

Oh, boy. I knew I was blushing. I typed back, "Aww that sounds good to me."

I threw my phone in my purse and drove home.

My parents wouldn't be home for a few more hours, as usual. I plopped down on our wrap around couch and flipped on Gossip Girl. My phone vibrated with another message from Ryland. Before I knew it, it was after 6pm and we'd been talking for hours. He was a nineteen year old criminal justice major and we had so much in common. I hadn't really talked to anyone else since Derek, and he was giving me butterflies.

Around nine pm, my parents made it home and we celebrated with cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. I was exhausted, so I headed upstairs to bed. As soon as I laid down, my phone lit up with another message from Ryland.

"Hey, a couple of my friends and I are coming up to Lyndsor tomorrow. Would you want to have lunch?"

I replied with a yes and we made plans to meet at the local Italian place at one. I couldn't resist but to look him up on Facebook. Sure enough, I found him. I didn't send a friend request, because I didn't want to be so creepy. But, I couldn't resist reading his public statuses. One from two weeks ago read:

"Everyone's so obsessed with being in charge, but what happens when someone comes along and rips that power from you?"

Another from that week read:

"At the end of the day, money's money, no matter how you earn it."

They were really strange statuses, but I pushed those thoughts out of my head. Maybe they were just song lyrics or something. I plugged in my phone and fell fast asleep, unaware of what tomorrow had in store for me.