SUMMER BREEZE

Chapter 1: The Stranger

I held tight the seemingly capricious paper with both my hands, and I took a moment to release a quick sigh of relief. Shifting myself a little to my left, I began to notice the mixed emotions that everyone had. Some were undeniably happy while others seemed pretty bummed. Personally, I didn't feel gloomy at all. I mean, who could feel sad on their graduation day?

As I was pondering these thoughts in my head, I felt a soft tap on my right shoulder, and automatically I knew who it was. I turned to face the person who had caught my attention, and sure enough, I was right. It was my bestfriend Lexy. She had this cheeky expression on her face and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Can you believe it, Kip? We actually did it! Holy guacamole." She said while throwing up her hands in the air.

"YES!! Yes we did, Lex. We've graduated." I replied trying my best to keep my cool.

Lexy and I have been such great friends ever since we were young children. It felt like we practically grew up together. We shared the same interests, and my god! Our humor just clicks so well. We've always had each others backs which was nice. We knew each other so well. There was no secret when it came to us. We knew every little bit there was to know about one another. Sure we had a lot of other friends, but we always saw each other as the best.

Time moved oddly slow that day. I'm not complaining, if anything I was actually grateful for it's pace. I actually think that I was able to give my farewell to every single kid in my school, at least that's what it felt like. I said my goodbyes even to the people I haven't even conversed with, like ever during the school year. It was fun, I got different reactions and it didnt feel awkward at all. No one cared anymore, school was over. Still, I had this feeling that something was missing. I looked back at my family who were waiting patiently near our car, and I motioned towards them with a ridiculous smile on my face. Before I knew it, a rather tall figure blocked my way, and both of us fell into this perfect crash. My grip on his arm was rather strong. I looked up at him while he looked down at me. A little embarrassed we chuckled and backed - up from each other.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming." The oddly familiar stranger said as he looked at me, observing every detail of me, as if he was trying to figure out if I was physically hurt.

Sweet.

"Ah, Ditto" I replied with a reassuring tone in my voice, it was my way of telling him that I was alright.

I found myself lost in my own trail of thought as I carefully observed him. I realized that he had gorgeous brown hair that went perfectly with his brown eyes. He had this soft smile that showed his perfectly sunk dimples. This boy looked as if he came right out of a magazine.

Oh no. I've stared at him for too long. I better say something smart and quick. I wouldn't want to come off as a creep.

"I haven't seen you here before."

Good one.

"Really? Actually, we had the same art class. You even insulted one of my pieces." 

Oh shit.

My throat suddently went desert dry when he said those words.

"Hoodie Guy?!" I blurted out. My heart's beating a lot faster now.

"Yes, it's me."

Feeling a little embarrassed for not recognizing him, I covered my face with my hands.