Intersecting Paths

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE


ALIA


It was a silent, sunny morning in Chicago. A ray of sunlight peaked through the small window space that the curtain failed to cover, making the room glow slightly. She shuffled through her bed sheets, hesitant to get up from bed. Keeping one eye open, Alia peered over to her alarm clock. It was exactly 6:59 am. She slowly sat up on her bed, rubbing her temples as she let out a soft sigh.

"First day of school." Alia mumbled with her raspy morning voice.

Alia didn't mind going to school. In fact, she loved the learning environment. It brought her some sort of inner peace. As a child, she loved the early mornings and she would always be enthusiastic to learn new things about her country. She was proud to be Indian. However, once she reached high school, it seemed like learning wasn't even important anymore. Everyone seemed too busy in becoming the best of the best. Within that pressure, even she got absorbed into that trend.

Alia chuckled as she was brushing her teeth, remembering the things she had said and done during her competitive phase. She remembered how in the tenth grade, she gave her classmate the wrong directions to the spelling bee competition so that her chances of winning would be higher. It didn't work out, but she still won so there was nothing to worry about.

She got dressed in a simple floral shirt that was slightly fitted, light blue jeans and her black converse. It was the first day of her third year in university and she needed to leave a good impression on her profs.

"Get to school 15 minutes early, be positive, confident and avoid using sarcasm towards any idiots." She reminded herself. Alia stared at herself one last time in the mirror. The reflection made her frown slightly but she shook her head. Forget it, she thought to her self. There's no one to impress in that school anyways. The lie made her bite her lip as she grabbed her bag and left her dorm.

Her bike was parked outside of the hostel. Living in a city like Chicago, Alia appreciated her bike. She would go biking in India as well, but she never liked it because Varun would always win the races.

Varun.

Just thinking about him made her heart skip a beat. Not in that cheesy or lustful way most girls from the campus would. But it was in a way that made her realize how much she longed for that friendship they once shared. Alia had many friends - most of them were actually just acquaintances - but Varun was different. You're being biased, she thought to herself. She turned left on the street, cycling closer towards the local Starbucks. Alia quickly rested her bike against the wall before she stepped into the coffee shop. The minute she stepped in, she felt a wave of regret.

"Alia!" Yelled out the obnoxiously loud voice of her 'friend' of her's, Jenna.

"Hi Jenna." Alia waved at her. She walked up to Jenna, greeting her with an awkward hug.

"What's up girl?" Jenna beamed. "We have so much to catch up on! Oh my gosh! Have you heard? Kyle's got a new girlfriend?" For the next five minutes, that was how the conversation went. Jenna talking nonstop and Alia giving the appropriate reactions when she was needed to. Gossiping wasn't Alia's favorite subject but she wasn't that uptight to ignore it either. She began to zone out after a while, remembering the time she was the one to bore her friends with gossip back in the day. It was amazing how shifting into a new country could change so many things and even people. Alia's thoughts were interrupted with Jenna's sudden squealing.

"Oh. My. God. There is Jason and his friends. He's looking so fine today!" Hearing this made Alia's heart drop to her stomach. Luckily her latte was prepared just in time. She grabbed the beverage before turning to Jenna. "Listen, I need to rush. My class starts soon. I'll see you later." She gave her friend a slight smile before heading for the exit.

It became her mission to leave the place before making any eye contact with the guy that was once her closest friend. The minute she stepped outside of the coffee shop, she started to breathe properly again. Alia positioned her bike up and started cycling again. She could've sworn, that from the corner of her eye, Varun stared at her. But that was nothing new. Neither the fact that he ignores her completely when he's in the same room as her.

Yeah, time does change things...and people.

*****
hope y'all liked the first chapter! it's short, I know but it's gonna get interesting later on! please comment and share!