The Experiment

New

I wake up to the annoying noise of the alarm clock that I now find peaceful. I am glad that I go to school. If I stayed here all day, I would become mad.

I go to the washroom, take a bath, brush my teeth, and do my skincare and haircare routine. Then I come out and wear my school uniform, gather my things, and head downstairs.

I notice that Dad is not at the dining table and Mom has already left for work. There are two pancakes and a cup of coffee on the table. I take a seat and notice that it is still hot. I finish my breakfast and on my way out, I lock the door. We have three keys to the main door: one with me, one with Mom, and one with Dad.

It's not something new that I have to eat alone; they leave early every day. We only eat breakfast together on weekends if Mom and Dad aren't fighting.

As I walk, I replay the incidents that took place yesterday. Why did Mom bring a guy home? Was it because of work or because she wanted to make Dad jealous? Whatever she wanted to do ruined the already ruined mood of the house.

My home has now turned into just a house. Sometimes, Mom and Dad fight so much that it makes me wonder whose side I will pick if they separate. And with this thought, my school comes into view. I walk towards my classroom and pray that I don't encounter Britney and her g**g. They are awful people.

Finally, after walking for 10 minutes, I reach my class. I slide the door open to find a room with light blue walls and light brown tables. No one has arrived yet.

I go to the back and put my bag down. Then I start taking things out of my bag.

Suddenly, the door opens and I look up; I am almost 20 minutes early. I see a tall boy with black hair and black eyes. He walks towards me, and for a second, I think he's going to talk to me, but he takes the seat in front of me. It is the first time I have seen him in our class. He's a transfer student for sure.

Now, even though he is very handsome, I am not going to talk to him because I don't talk to beautiful people as I feel insecure and I know they won't pay attention to me. Plus, I'm an introvert, so I mind my own business. If he wants to talk to me, he will.

I take out the novel "The Alchemist" from my bag and continue from where I had stopped. I read books when I get to school almost every day since Jake comes after me.

As I am focused on the book, I notice the classroom starting to fill up with students. They all look surprised to see the new gorgeous creature.

Until now, Jake was the most handsome boy in this class, but now it looks like he has competition. Even though I find him attractive and am more focused on him than the book in my hand, I won't call it "love at first sight" since I don't believe in that. I believe it's more like a "crush at first sight," and I am too shy to date, I guess.

Then finally, I see Jake, and my face lights up. He comes and sits on my bench. Mind you, two can sit on one bench. I wonder who's going to sit with the boy in front of us.

"Hey Jane! What's up?" Jake greets.

"Hi Jake," I smile at him.

"Who's this?" He whispers in my ear.

"How the hell would I know?" I whisper back.

"Looks like you have competition," I whisper and smirk, and he just rolls his eyes. Before he can say anything, the teacher enters; everyone stands and greets her. Then we all sit back down. Her name is Ms. Alice. She's a redhead and very pretty. She looks at us and notices the new handsome kid.

"Looks like we have a new friend. Please stand up and tell us about yourself," she smiles at the boy. He stands up and says in a deep, husky voice,

"My name is Kian, and I will be studying here from now on. Don't bother to socialize with me." With that, he sits back down. He has an attitude problem, but he is hot. I can see the girls already drooling over him.

We still have 15 minutes left until the first period, which is English. In the meantime, I tell Jake what happened yesterday.

"Your house is becoming way too toxic to live. Why did your mom bring that guy home anyways?" Jake asks.

"How the hell would I know? Maybe to make Dad jealous or some s**t," I say.

"Jake, things are getting so bad that sometimes I wonder who I will live with after they separate," I add.

"I am sure they are just stressed. They won't part with each other," Jake gives me courage.

Then lunch break rolls in, and we head to the cafeteria. Jake had football practice today, so he finishes his lunch quickly and goes to practice. That leaves me. I sit alone at the table like I do when Jake's not around.

Then I spot the new guy Kian. With his lunch tray in hand, he sits at the table in front of me and starts eating. For some reason, I can't take my eyes off him.

Soon, Britney joins him. She opens her mouth to say, "Hi there, looks like you're new here. Want me to show you around?" She smiles. She gets so fake around men. She's a typical pick-me.

"No," Kian replies. Looks like her charm doesn't work on him.

"Come on, it will be fun," Britney insists, but he ignores her, which shatters her ego, and now I can confidently say I like him even more.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Why is Britney asking him such personal questions?

"Mind your own business," Kian replies, which shuts her down. Then suddenly, Britney's boyfriend calls her, and she leaves. She is unbelievable. She has had almost seven exes in the past three months. I think this new boyfriend is going to last one week or so, then he will join the ex-club.

After the lunch break is over, all I do is sleep in class. When school ends, Jake leaves early for football practice, and I leave last as I hate crowds.

When everyone has left, I begin packing my bag, and that's when I notice AirPods on the table in front of me. They belong to Kian! He just left, which means he won't be far. I take them in my hand, pack my belongings, put my bag over my shoulders, and run.

I hurry down the stairs and finally find him on the main ground. I can't run any faster, and soon my legs will give up, so I call out, "Kian!" He turns around looking surprised. He looks at me and stops. I run towards him and hand him his AirPods.

"You left them on your table," I say as I pant. He looks at me, and without a smile, he says, "Thank you." He moves around and starts to walk, then he stops and turns around. He says,

"Jane, I need a favor."