Welcome to Reefside (editing in progress)

Tracy's First Day at Reefside

Normal POV

Tracy and Conner step into the nurse's office. The nurse looks up — a compact frame, long, dirty-blonde hair pulled back, and sharp but kind blue-green eyes.

"Well, hello, Conner," she says knowingly. "And who's your friend?"

"This is Tracy," he explains.

"Ah. The new student." The nurse nods once, then her expression flattens. "And I see you've already met Grant."

Tracy lifts her eyebrows like, yep, that tracks.

The nurse cleans the small cut near Tracy's eye with practiced ease.

"There you go, all set," she says warmly.

They step back into the hallway — and the bell rings.

"Sorry you missed the game because of me," Tracy says as they walk.

Conner waves her off. "I have soccer practice after school. You didn't ruin anything." He motions toward the cafeteria. "Come on. If we wait too long, we'll get stuck at the 'table by the trash cans.'"

Tracy laughs softly and nods.

They hurry to the cafeteria and grab a table by the window.

"Hey... thanks for standing up for me," Tracy says quietly.

"No prob. Friends do that," Conner says with an easy grin.

Kira, Ethan, and Trent spot them and hurry over.

"Tracy, I heard you met Grant," Ethan says.

"Oh yeah. He's a delight," Tracy deadpans.

Ethan gasps. "No, he's—"

"Ethan, she's being sarcastic," Trent sighs.

"Oh. I knew that." Ethan clears his throat. "Hey, Tracy... you still have that rock, right?"

"Yup."

He leans in. "Okay, I really need to tell you something about—"

"Not here," Kira cuts in.

"Right, not here," he corrects himself.

Tracy throws her hands up. "Can somebody please tell me what is going on?"

Everyone stares at each other.

"...it's nothing," Ethan says way too quickly.

"Okay... if you say so." Tracy's not convinced, but she lets it go.

After lunch, Tracy walks into Mr. Johnson's Pre-Calc class, still wearing Mike's hoodie. She sits down next to Mike, who notices the hoodie and smiles.

"Hey, you're still wearing my hoodie," Mike says softly.

"Yeah, it's been keeping me warm," Tracy replies with a shy smile.

Mike looks at her for a moment, then says, "Hey, honestly, that looks a lot better on you. Maybe you should keep it."

Tracy's eyes widen in surprise, but she can't help but smile. "Really? Are you sure?"

Mike nods. "Yeah, I insist. It looks great on you."

Tracy blushes slightly, feeling a mix of embarrassment and flattery. "Thanks, Mike. That's really sweet of you."

Mike grins, clearly pleased with himself. "No problem. Just don't tell anyone I'm a softie."

Tracy laughs softly, feeling more at ease with Mike's playful banter. "Your secret is safe with me."

Mr. Johnson starts writing on the board — tiny, microscopic handwriting that absolutely no normal human could read.