The lost Luna

The morning air was cool, just enough to make me hug my arms as my best friend ,Kris, and I walked the cracked sidewalk toward our school. It was the first day of senior year and we were somewhat excited. Northwood Academy was the kind of school you’d see in glossy brochures or teenage drama shows …tall marble buildings, glassy hallways, sports arenas the size of stadiums. An elite school reserved for the richest of the rich. Students like me and Kris didn’t belong there, at least not by their standards. We got in by doing what none of them had to….All-nighters, extra credit, competitions, tears. The kids here weren’t just rich …they came from the most elite families all over the world…spoiled, bored, entitled. They looked at people like us like we were charity cases. Aliens. Background props in their perfectly curated lives they posted online. They had money, power, influence. We had brains, ambition, and thick skin. Sometimes it felt like we were surviving a warzone in designer clothing. But somehow we survived three years here and we were now in our final year.. Kris had barely said a word since we left her house …too busy holding that letter she spent all summer writing like it was made of glass. “You’re really gonna do it?” I asked, stealing a glance at her. She nodded, her eyes fixed on the ground. “I’ve liked Dylan for forever now…also we got closer over the break. I… I think he might like me too.” I bit my lip. “Kris…I don’t think this is a good idea” i knew Kris had been quietly crushing on Dylan for ages …. Dylan was one of the popular boys of Northwood Academy, carved from money and mystery. Always laughing, always flawless and dangerous, in their own way. Kris still believed in happy endings and fairy tale love but I’ve learnt a lot time that boys like Dylan only viewed me and kris as tools… “I understand you Aria but I promise Dylan isn’t like that” she said, her voice faltering. “Besides, what if I don’t tell him and he was actually waiting for me to say something?” “Kris…" "I just….I have to try Ari" she looked at me hugging the envelope tighter I didn’t push any further…. We talked the rest of the way to school, and arrived just in time.. Three years in, and i still didn’t feel like i belonged. Before we could even enter the gate… Some Northwood princesses greeted us with their usual venom. “OMG, Aria. You actually managed to look worse than last year.” “She’s so disgusting,” one of them sneered. “That hair? That face? Honestly, how does the school keep letting her through the gates? It’s visual harassment at this point.” I didn’t flinch. I never did…not on the outside, at least. For as long as I could remember, my face had only brought me trouble…trouble, jealousy, unwanted attention, and sometimes, much worse. So I hid it. Under layers of unflattering makeup, smudged eyeliner, dull foundation…an armor of ugliness I had crafted to keep the world away. No one in Northwood had ever seen the real me. They could laugh. Ridicule me. Call me hideous. Because under all that, I was safe. And safety, in a place like Northwood, was a luxury I couldn’t afford to lose. We simply walked past and ignored them. Right before we stepped inside the building….right beside the fountain, we spotted Dylan and his friends. “Dylan!” Kris called, her voice bright with hope. He turned slightly, barely interested, but with a strange flicker in his gaze. She handed him the letter…neatly folded, with the box of cookies she’d done for him. He took it with his usual smug grin. The one that made my skin crawl. I didn’t hear what he said but I saw how she lit up at those words. And I had this bad feeling in my gut. We split up for classes…biology for me, literature for her. I slipped into the class hall just before the bell rang, sliding into my usual seat in the back. The one next to me, like always, was empty. No one ever sat near me.. Just how I wanted. Privacy was rare at Northwood, and I had learned to treasure it. Mr. Hawthorne was already writing equations on the board when the door creaked open again. “Class,” he said, adjusting his glasses, “we have a new transfer student joining us today. Please welcome…” He paused like he was about to announce royalty. “Aiden Blackwell.” The name dropped like a bomb. A few students gasped. Whispers exploded across the room like wildfire. “Blackwell… as in those Blackwells?” “No way, he’s actually here?” “Wasn’t he at some elite private school in Switzerland” I frowned. The name sounded very familiar. Then I saw him. Tall. Dressed in a crisp black uniform that somehow looked better than everyone else’s. Dark hair. Sharp jawline. A lazy, nonchalant expression like the world bored him. He walked in with his hands in his pockets like he couldn’t care less about the stares he was getting. The classroom suddenly felt smaller. Quieter. Aiden Blackwell didn’t need an introduction. He was the introduction. "We’ve arranged a special seat in the front row for you Mr Blackwell" Mr Hawthorne said..he sounded somewhat scared I couldn’t blame him…. The staffs here couldnt afford to offend a student… I became uninterested by the events happening…and looked down at the textbook in front of me, going through this years syllabus…I saw Aiden to be just another nonchalant spoilt rich heir.. But then, to everyone’s shock, including mine, he walked straight down the aisle… and stood near the empty seat beside me. The room stiffened. I blinked, not bothering to hide my confusion. Seriously? Then I looked up to face him and noticed a slight frown on his face, His nose flared for a second, as if he caught a whiff of something he couldn’t place. He blinked, just once, and then the look vanished….. he then looked at the chair… he wanted me to move? What was happening ?? Hell noo "You…you can’t sit here" I said in a low whisper "Huh?” I could see a slight surprise in his eyes As if on cue, Brittany Monroe ….Northwoods Princess with a designer bag and a superiority complex to match …practically floated over in her heels, flashing her signature fake smile. “Aiden! Oh my God,” she said, flipping her glossy hair. “I didn’t know you were transferring here. Our moms are on the board together. You probably don’t remember me, but we met at the Blackwell gala two summers ago.” No response. He didn’t even blink. Undeterred, she giggled and leaned in closer. “You know, there’s a free seat over there by me and the others. You don’t have to sit here, with….” she flicked her eyes toward me, like I was an eyesore. “Well, you know.” I didn’t even look up from my notebook. “Brit,” I said casually, “I think your mascara’s melting. Might want to fix that before you scare off the new guy.” Her jaw dropped. A few people snorted. One guy outright laughed. But what made me freeze for a split second was the sound beside me. A low breath. Soft. Quick. Like a laugh. Did he…? No. Probably just a cough. I turned slightly, and saw that he started walking towards the other end of the room…ignoring Britney..he took the empty seat there.. Thank God.. I heaved a sigh of relief..if Aiden Blackwell sat here i would never hear the end of it… Brittany huffed and stormed off in a whirl of perfume and ego. I couldn’t help glancing at him…I had to admit he was really good looking.. He stared back at me with an unreadable look on his face.. Little did I know then that this was the beginning of the end for my quiet life.