His eyes, her secret

It was Selene’s first day at a new school. She had just transferred from a private school to a public one because of the financial struggles her family was facing. Raised by a single mother doing her best to keep her and her siblings afloat, Selene had learned to be strong — but it wasn’t easy. Her mother had fallen sick, and the medical bills were draining their savings. Still, her mother didn’t want her to skip a school year, so she enrolled Selene in a public school closer to home. On her first day, Selene walked through the school gates nervously, afraid everyone would look down on her like in her previous school, where she had been the quiet, weird kid. What she didn’t realize was that she had gone through a growth spurt — and she looked nothing like she did the year before. As she stepped into the hallway, eyes followed her. For the first time, it wasn’t out of mockery or pity, but admiration. Whispers spread quickly, and she could feel people turning to look at her. It was strange, but it felt… nice. She made it to her class and took a seat at the back. Before the first period began, the teacher asked her to introduce herself. Selene stood up shyly, introduced herself, and immediately drew attention from her classmates — especially the boys. But this time, they weren’t laughing at her looks. When the final bell rang, one of the most handsome and popular boys in her class, Karl, approached her. He offered to help her catch up with what the class had done so far. She politely turned him down, saying she had it covered for now, but would let him know if she needed help later. As they talked, a girl called Karl from across the room. Selene later learned that was his girlfriend — and she was quite possessive. By the end of her first day, three different boys had approached her. It felt unreal — she had gone from being the quiet girl everyone avoided to the new beauty of the school everyone wanted to know.