Kairosclerosis

Chapter One

Opia:

(n.) the ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable

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"Olivia!"

I groan and roll over, turning off my alarm. Glowing bright, it reads Wednesday, November 6th, 6:30 am. I pull off my comforter, slide out of my twin sized bed, and tidy up the blankets and pillows. I head down the hall into the bathroom and turn on the light.

My dark brown hair is all tangled, looking like a knitting project gone wrong. I use the toilet then start to comb out the mess of my hair. Afterward, I put in my contacts and add some light mascara to show off my green eyes.

I go back into my room and into my closet. I grab a pair of blue jeans, a lavender shirt, and my tennis shoes.

Heading downstairs I am greeted by my mom, Kara. Her and my father, John, adopted me when I was three months old. Before I was born, my biological father ran off and his girlfriend, my biological mother was crushed. She put me up for adoption as soon as I was born, to be raised by Kara and John three months later. They were the only parents I had ever known, and we were pretty happy.

My dad had already left as I sat down to eat, he works in a corporate office as a manager, so he is away from home a lot. I quickly fix myself a bowl of cereal and eat breakfast. As soon as I finish, I place my bowl in the sink and grab my lunch.

"Mom, I'm ready" I call out across our house. I put on my backpack, grab my gym bag and head out the garage. She unlocks the explorer and I get in the driver's seat. Mom joins on the passenger side and we both buckle up. I have my license and will hopefully get a car for my birthday next week. Both Mom and Dad have been throwing around hints for the past few days, so that's a good sign.

I get to school and meet up with my friends outside the gym. My two best friends are Anna Klien and Jessica Cook. I've known Anna since third grade and I met Jess in my sophomore year. The first bell rings, signaling to head to the first period. Together, the three of us walk to Mr. Adams' class, AP Physics.

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The day goes by slowly. We took notes in Physics, watched a movie in English, and worked on our project for Calculus. Finally, the bell rings for lunch. I meet Anna and Jess at our usual table and start to unpack my lunch. Mom packs my lunches so it is always a surprise. Inside, I find a ham and cheese sandwich, a Ziploc bag of Doritos, a Gatorade and some Oreos. Anna starts talking about her boyfriend and I space off. I love her and all, but ever since she started dating Matthew, he's all she talks about, and it can get kind of boring.

I start to people watch and my eyes scan across the walkway to the parallel table. Sure enough, there is a guy sitting there watching us. He sits there every day, watching us as if he's waiting for something to happen. He is a senior and always sits with a bunch of other guys from the soccer team, but I always catch him looking this way, as if he's waiting for something to happen.

"Liv, are you even paying attention?" Jess asks as she taps my shoulder.

"Sorry, whats up?" I respond as I turn my attention back to my friends. "Anna and I were wondering if we could all hang out tonight at my house," she comments.

I start to say yes, but then I remember that Mom, Dad, and I are going out to eat tonight. "Sorry girls, but mom and dad are taking me out to eat at Selda's for dinner for my birthday," Dad is going on a business trip next week, so he won't be home for my birthday, so we decided to have the honorary dinner this week. "Maybe this weekend, I don't have any pla-" I get interrupted by Jess as she points to the guy across the walkway.

"He's staring again," she points out as we all turn to look in his direction.

"Yeah, and he's staring at you," added Anna as she eyed me.

There was no way this guy was looking at me. I mean, I'm just a junior, I'm only like 5'11", I have boring brown hair, and he probably doesn't even know my name. I don't think I even know his.

Although, he isn't that bad looking. He is tall, about 6'2" probably, he has dark, shaggy brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a small dash of freckles. I realize that I have been staring too long and quickly blush. He gets up and starts to head our way, keeping eye contact with me. The bell rings and he continues on, walking past our table without a glance. Who is this guy?

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The rest of my day continues like normal. I go to History, Art, and Chemistry. When the 3:30 bell rings, I head to the weight room. I joined the powerlifting team my freshman year, and have been in it since. I have competed at multiple competitions and I am actually not too bad. I workout for about an hour after school and call my mom to pick me up.

I grab my stuff and head outside. I'm leaning against the wall and glance to the left. The guy from lunch is walking out of the soccer field gate, heading towards the parking lot. He spots me and changes his direction, heading towards me. I've never actually talked to him, so I'm surprised when he speaks to me.

"I thought you only practiced on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. What are you doing here?" he inquires, suddenly looking concerned.

"Is everything okay? Are you alright? Do you-" I stare at him as he jabbers on. Now is my chance to figure out what is his deal and why he always stares at my best friends and I.

"What are you, my stalker? I don't know what your deal is or why you are always staring at my friends and me," he opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. "But I think you should not be a creepy stalker dude and leave us alone, do you have a crush on me or something, I don't even know your name."

Suddenly, he bursts out laughing. What is this guy's problem? Is he okay? He doubles over and tries to catch his breath. This goes on for a minute or two until he sticks out his left hand.

"Olivia," he starts.

"My name is Liv," I quickly correct. Only my parents call me Olivia.

He sighs, "Liv. My name is Etio, 'not creepy stalker dude'" he says, quoting me. "And I promise I'm not trying to be creepy or anything, I was just meant to be your Verndari."

Before I ask what that means, I hear a car horn and turn to see my mom waving at me through the window. "Well bye Etio," I say as I head to the car.

"Who was that boy honey?" Mom asks as she drives off. "Nobody, just some kid I've seen around the school," I respond. I really don't know who he is or what the heck that word was he said, but at least he isn't a creepy stalker dude.

I think.

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AN: Hey, so I've had this idea for this book for a while and I used to write in 2015 and 2016. (Well I tried to...) Anyways, I'm really excited for this so I hope you enjoy.

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-Grace