FATED SEATS

CHAPTER 1

The sun rose and the wind blew in my face. The color of clouds in the sky was perfectly sky blue. It was Monday morning.I was so nervous because this was the first day of the class as a senior high school student as a STEM student.

ARA'S POV

The air in the classroom hummed with nervous energy. Freshmen. That's what we were, even if they called us "Grade 11 students" now. Senior High. STEM Strand. So many labels.the wind in this school is such weird I feel the weight of my heart as i walked through the corridor my heart beat fast, the feeling of something off in this classroom got goosebumps, the environment is so quietly horrible,the energy of individuals here is draining , my energy drains immediately, as I see they radiate the competition mode . A reminder that there was something vast and beautiful beyond the walls of this classroom, beyond the pressure to succeed.

I found an empty seat near the front, second row from the teacher's table. Perfect, I thought. Close enough to hear the lectures, far enough to avoid unwanted attention.

The class started,One by one, the students filed in, their voices a cacophony of excited chatter and hushed introductions. I kept my head down, pretending to read, but I couldn't help but observe.

As the class started, our adviser, Bb.love, introduced herself and her subject, Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik. Following that, she asked each student to introduce themselves. When it was my turn, I said, "I am Ara Dela Cruz, 16 years old, born on February 14, 2008." After our introductions, Bb.love surprised us by asking us to dance the "Budots," which made everyone laugh.

I tried to dance with it even though I don't know how to dance it. I do it because I want them to be happy with my performance, but one thing that I can't understand is the loud noise it makes my heart pump fast.

ALAN'S POV

The first day was a blur of introductions and syllabus overviews. I always tried to make a good impression, but honestly, the new school didn't matter. I was just passing the time

I spotted a girl sitting near the teacher's table. She was surrounded by chaos, and her presence seemed to dim by sadness.

I want to know her story.

ARA'S POV

The bell rang, signaling the start of pre-calculus. A petite woman with fiery red hair bounced to the front of the room. "Good afternoon, everyone! You can call me Pi," she chirped, her voice a surprising contrast to the complex equations scrawled across the whiteboard behind her. Before we could even settle in, she slammed a problem onto the board, a jumble of Greek letters and exponents that looked like another language to me. My jaw dropped. I didn't even know where to begin. Panic clawed at my throat. After her class, a whirlwind of confusion and self-doubt churned in my mind, a storm of "what ifs" and "I can'ts."

The torment continued with general chemistry. In contrast to Pi's exuberance, our chemistry teacher, a stern woman with a perpetual frown etched on her face, didn't even bother with introductions. She simply launched into a rapid-fire lecture on molecular structures and chemical bonds, using terms that were utterly foreign to me. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of scientific jargon, completely lost and overwhelmed. A wave of inadequacy washed over me. I felt so downgrade, stupid even. I didn't even know what she talks about, it was like she's speaking in a another language

After a long time in our first school meeting, my body felt drained and I want to test but

Then, a thought of Earl surfaced, pain suddenly enveloped Ara's head, will I ever see him again?

Flashback

"(Girl) pwede maki upo?." I look in the side and Earl is waving his hands while smiling

"Oo naman," Ara responds Earl and his smile lightens.

End of flashback

Maybe, I thought cautiously, maybe he could be like Earl from tenth grade.

As the weeks bled into months, the memory of Earl, his infectious laughter, and the effortless way he connected with people, became a constant ache in my chest. He possessed a magnetic pull, a charisma that drew everyone in, a quality I desperately envied. He was everything I wasn't – charming, confident, and the life of the party. I decided, perhaps foolishly, that I needed to change, to mold myself into someone people would like, someone more like Earl. A risky plan, but I felt I had nothing to lose.

My focus landed on Ann, the girl who sat next to me in every class. She was a fortress of quiet, her brilliance in math radiating like an invisible shield. While the rest of us struggled with algebraic equations, Ann solved them with a serene smile, barely glancing up from her notebook. But she was also fiercely introverted, a lone wolf who seemed content in her own world.

Days turned into weeks, and I made clumsy attempts to breach her solitude. A hesitant "Hi" in the morning, an offer to share my notes, a mumbled compliment on her intricate doodles. But Ann remained aloof, her responses curt, her eyes darting away as if I were an unwelcome distraction. Each interaction felt like hitting a brick wall.

The rejection stung more than I could have imagined. It wasn't just about wanting a friend; it was about the crushing realization that I wasn't good enough, that even a simple connection was beyond my reach.

That night, the dam broke. Tears streamed down my face as I lay in bed, the weight of my failures pressing down on me. I didn't belong. Not in this class, not with these people. Even my own seatmate didn't want me. The thought echoed in the darkness, a deafening chorus of self-doubt and despair. "What is wrong with me?", I thought. "Why can't I be the person that people will love?" I turned to my side and started a new journey again in my dreams. A dream that only me and myself could be together.