Blurred Lines | ✓ [1st Edition]

19 | New Beginning

"I could make you happy,
Make your dreams come true.
Nothing that I wouldn't do,
To make you feel my love."

In a blink of an eye, I was back from Japan and starting my first year in Meilleur U. I was both excited yet filled with dread at the thought of meeting new people. The only person I knew that was going to be in my class was Yuko, and although that provided some comfort, I was still extremely nervous. This was my chance to be a new person. What if people don't like me?

"Excuse me."

Jumping in fright and shaking out of my reverie, I spun around to come face to face with an unfamiliar face. The girl was dressed in casual jeans and a loose pastel blue turtleneck, her dirty blonde hair piled messily on her head in a cute bun. With a friendly smile, she glanced at the empty seat next to me.

"May I?" she asked. Blinking, I nodded.

"Sure," I said, pursing my lips but offering her a friendly smile nonetheless.

"I'm Tessa," she introduced cheerily, lazily lying on her dainty hand propped against the plywood table. Her sunny personality and easy going smile reminded me very much of Emily Park.

"Marissa," I replied awkwardly. I never needed to introduce myself before, because everyone already knew who I was. It was a pretty uncomfortable experience, to say the least.

"Nice to meet you," Tessa laughed airily, shaking her head slightly. Without another word, she produced a pen from her pocket and started tapping lightly on the table.

Frowning slightly, I wondered if I should start another conversation.

"So, you must be pretty smart, right?" I asked, immediately cursing myself for sounding like an idiot. Of course she was smart! This is the university's Honours class!

Tessa glanced at me, looking slightly surprised before nodding.

"How did you guess?" she replied, smiling teasingly. Blushing furiously, I chuckled nervously.

"Sorry, I don't really know how to...," I trailed off, gesturing wildly with my hands to try to find a word to describe my predicament.

"Interact like a normal person?" she asked slowly. Her deep green eyes were wide, as if she was trying to talk to a stubborn child.

"Sorry," I apologised with embarrassment. "This must be weird for you."

"It's alright," she said, smiling. "People don't usually talk to me, so it's nice to see you try. Even though you kind of...failed."

We stared at each other for a few silent seconds before bursting out in laughter. My stomach clenched in pain from laughing so hard, and when we finally calmed down, we both had silly smiles on our faces.

"Can we start over?" I asked, completely out of breath from laughing so hard. Tessa nodded, and offered me a hand.

"Tessa Parker," she said with mock seriousness. Wow...even her last name is similar to Emily's, I couldn't help but think.

"Marissa Lee," I grinned, shaking her hand firmly. Recognition flashed in her eyes at the mention of my name, and her pink lips formed an 'O' shape as she stared at me.

"The Marissa Lee?" she asked, her grin falling into a small smile.

Nervously, I nodded. Great, now she knows who I am and probably heard about all the nasty things I've done.

"That's cool. Heard you're one of the musical prodigies," she said. Surprised, I nodded slowly with a smile.

"How did you know?" I asked, wracking my brain for any information regarding this new girl. If she's heard about me, she must've attended Meilleur Academy, right?