Reach for the stars [Martin Garrix]

1

Chapter 1

Amsterdam

15:07

Looking out of the window, Noelle observed the city. Amsterdam. Beautiful houses, with huge windows and tiny doors; wet, gray pavement, serving as a huge mirror for the dark sky. For her, it was a new start, a new opportunity to carry into the future.

The city was large, her parents' car moving slowly through the narrow, claustrophobic streets. It seemed as the sides of the car would have soon scraped against the stone walls, as the houses seem to narrow even more, with every metre passed.

It was cold outside, the thunderstorm raging and heavy raindrops falling on the clear, glass windows and the big windshield. It felt as though the city is not welcoming at all, but Noelle thought it was just the weather. Nothing was against her today: the journey was perfect.

"Do you like it so far?" Her mother, Elena asked from the front seat. She was a middle-aged woman, with stunning, piercing eyes and a happy smile.

"Yeah, looks good," Noelle replied in Dutch and no wonder - she is Dutch. Most of her life, until that moment, she lived in Eindhoven, a larger city in the south of Netherlands. It was splendid, but not enough for her. There weren't any opportunities there, especially in Noelle's future career.

Singing. Noelle loved singing and wanted to become a singer. Most of her life, she spent listening to all of the different kinds of music and learning to sing on her own. She was pretty impressed, when Herman Brood Academy sent her an email about her being accepted there. She felt, that she was not good enough.

Of course, education was not the only reason for her family moving there. When Noelle's sister, Emilia moved to America, Noelle's father, Alfred, got a better job in Amsterdam, so they all decided to move into the city.

Taking out her phone from her black backpack, Noelle plugged in her earphones and put them on, drowning in the world of music. Her favourite was acoustic, something like Oh-Wonder and maybe even The 1975. It all depended on her mood and how she felt at the moment. Her taste was never stable.

As the lyrics flooded through the wires and into her ears, she though about the possibility of this being a bad idea. Although everything was thoroughly thought through by her and her parents, there are little moments, that might ruin it all. She couldn't rely fully on herself, because she would then blame everything on herself, however she couldn't rely on luck either.

She thought about the new school and how she will try hard to study well and do perfect in her exams. Her thoughts were optimistic, but not about her, meeting her classmates. What if they would think she is too bad or not enough? What if they wouldn't like her? What if she'll have no friends? All what-ifs, without an exact answer. She'll have to wait and see.

The car stopped opposite a pretty, medium-sized, two-story-high house. Taking out her backpack form the backseat, Noelle looked at it. It was really pretty and just what she wanted. She helped her parents take out the many suitcases and boxes, getting inside the house first. When she entered the front corridor, the strong smell of cinnamon hit her nose. It smelled like somebody burned cinnamon-scented candles here for a very long time.

Putting down the boxes, she rushed upstairs, to see the rooms. Excitement built up inside her, which she hasn't felt for quite a long time. A smile was decorating her pale face, making her look and feel like a child. She was told, that her room is in the attic, which is pretty big, so she didn't waste a second and ran straight up.