Clarity

1. Sweet Start to Sweet Sixteen

The night before her sixteenth birthday, Anastasia wrote in her diary.

"Dear Diary,

Another year of boredom, loneliness, insecurities and enervated verve has slipped away. All my blemishes have emboldened themselves, shining light on my queer and aberrant personality. Feels like 16 years of nothing. Happy Birthday to me."

Out of complacence, she closed shut the glittery hardcover notebook and put it aside. She sat on her chair staring out of the window into the pitch black night sky. Her attention diverted to a car that stopped in front of the house across the street. "Come on bro, we're running out of time", a voice called from the red Maserati.

From the house came out a tall boy with a leather jacket covering his broad shoulders. His jet black hair was ruffled and swept sideways, his chiseled jawline designed with perfection and his beautiful emerald eyes gleamed in the dimness of street lights . The boy swiftly lifted his sturdy arms to wave at the car. When he smiled, his angular cheeks lay bare deep dimples on his close trimmed face.

But this had not been the first time Anastasia had seen him.  Adrian Casserole , was the heartbeat of the town, the boy designed with acute finesse. Anastasia's eyes held a certain sparkle at the sight of Adrian. But as always, she was playing the role of the girl who creepily stole glances of the boy who lived across the street. She let out a deep and heavy sigh. "Five minutes to midnight", she softly murmured to herself.  She looked back outside. Adrian was getting into the car. He looked simply gorgeous. Having been the popular jock in school, Adrian usually spent his nights at top-notch parties with the other cool kids. Anastasia and him had been neighbors for six months yet she remained non existent to his senses.

Now as for Anastasia, she was a beautiful brunette with fine beach waves cascading down her shoulders. Her ocean blue eyes stared out beneath delicate eyebrows. Her flawless skin accentuated the beauty of her slender visage.

Self consciousness and poor confidence had gotten the best of Anastasia in her teenage years. As she struggled to make it through the drabness of high school, she seemed to have buried herself deeper into her shell. She avoided all kind of socialization and distanced herself from most people she used to call friends. She was perplexed, shy and apprehensive. Anastasia longed to go out, she wanted to hang out with more people and make more friends. However her anxiety cut her off from school and its social atmosphere and her insecurities barred her from the life she dreamed to have. People had stopped trying to befriend her as she never put effort from her side. All this had sucked motivation and hope out of Anastasia. The once so amiable and bright girl was lost inside her fears. Everything was blur and confusing in her head.

She watched as the car rolled away down the street. Suddenly her cellphone screen lit with a beep. 12 am- 20th of September. Officially sixteen. At this moment the red Maserati appeared outside the window again. Adrian got off, looking like he had forgotten something. The streets suddenly grew dark. The power went off. At that moment, the only noticeable light seemed to come from Anastasia's window. Adrian looked backwards while in the process of walking into the house. He lifted his head right in time to see through Anastasia's window, a pretty girl neatly sitting on her desk with a pile of books set right in front of her. Who was this girl and why had he never noticed her before? He simpered at her, and managed to give a quick wink before looking away.

Anastasia gasped. Dumbstruck. Her heart pounded heavily on her chest, and she ran short of breath. What a miraculous start to her sweet sixteen. Butterflies butterflies butterflies. Pure delight erupted inside her body. Unbelievable.

Hurriedly she reached out to grab her diary.
"Euphoria.
What. How. Why.
Miracle at 12 am. Great start to sixteen. Maybe won't be asssss bad as I thought it would be."
Anastasia had never felt this good in a very long time. Her cellphone rang. It was her one and only bestfriend. "Hello Jane", she answered with immense excitement, "happy birthday to meeee".

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End of chapter one. Hope you like the start to the story. Please leave out suggestions in the comments. Thanks for reading, do continue doing so ❤️