And My Luna Trips Again!

It is a new day and the beginning of the new term for our senior year. After a long break, none of us felt like going to school and starting with the monotonous routine. I watch my two best friends and flatmates walk from one room to another, half asleep. “What exactly are you two doing?”, I finally asked. “Looking for school goodies!”, Anna replies. “Why are you packing so many band-aids and ointments?”, I asked, watching her keep a whole packet of band-aids in her bag. “It is the beginning of the school year! Corridors will be empty. And you, my friend, are going to hurt yourself banging into lockers and falling off the stairs.”, Anna mocks. “Hey! I won’t.”, I defend my past record of being clumsy. “Well! You didn’t win the tag of ‘The School’s Queen of Clumsiness’ for nothing.”, Arya intervenes, pointing at the sash hanging proudly on my almirah. I roll my eyes at their childish act but keep a few band-aids in my bag as well. Well, it is true that I am known for being clumsy. My year starts with banging my head on a locker and ends with going down the stairs on my bum! But the first day of the new year is different. My school is always crowded and when you fall with people around, they manage to try and save you, making the fall hurt a little less. (Hello Newton!) But on the first day, the population is less than half, making the falls hurt a lot more. There are two reasons for this weird trend of low attendance- First, there is no compulsory attendance on the first day, so students take this day as the last day to enjoy their freedom. And the second and the more important reason is, on this day, our school’s student body president- Caleb Adolf was born. So, he holds a grand celebration every year with free food and alcohol. What else do teenagers want? An excuse to leave home and no record of attendance combined with the most awaited birthday bash of the year. “Hayley, are you sure you don’t want to attend Caleb’s party?”, Arya asks me again. “No! I would rather attend Professor Johansson’s paleontology class.”, I replied and left the room. “This year it will be huge! You know that right?” she asked, following me. “Yes! It is the school’s prince’s 20th birthday! So what?”, I snapped. “Okay! Okay! Calm down, girl. I will bring back loads and loads of gossip.”, Arya says, giving me a hug. The last time I attended his party I ended up going viral on social media. Well, anyone will go viral if you fall off a roof and dive straight into a three-tier birthday cake! In my defense, I was pushed off the roof by a crowd of very enthusiastic dancers. But it didn’t matter as the video was made from an angle that showed me tripping on nothing. Since then, I have avoided his parties. “Anna is also not coming!”, Arya complains. “You know she won’t be going. Her ex is organizing the party!”, I defend our heartbroken princess. Caleb’s best friends, Arnold and Anna, dated for three years. But due to some family issues, Arnold had to take this step. Such a douchebag, I tell you! “Shall we leave?”, a smiling Anna comes and asks. Arya and I nod and pick up our bags. “Are you sure about going to school?”, Arya asks one last time while we lock the door. We both give her a glare and she smiles meekly at us before leaving to help with setting up the party. “She sometimes does get on my nerves,” Anna says with a laugh to cover up her annoyance. I gave her a hug and walked towards the car with my hands around her shoulders. “You don’t have to coax me like this. I will drive! I also don’t wish to die on the first day!”, she mocks. I pushed her away, lightly slapping her shoulder. We both laughed, giving our day a beautiful start. Soon we took a turn towards the lane of our school and the scene in front of us took us both by surprise. We left our home expecting loads and loads of empty parking spots, but there was no space to even drive our car toward the school. “What is happening here?”, Anna asked. I shrugged my shoulders. We were both equally clueless. Anna parked the car two lanes away from our school. “What is Arya doing here?”, I asked, pointing towards a black BMW which belongs to our friend. “Let us go and check!”, Anna said and stepped out of the car. I opened the door as Anna yelled- “Watch out!”. Well, it was too late. There was a guy lying on the floor groaning in pain. I banged my door into someone. This is new! I rushed towards the person apologizing. “I am so sorry!”, I said and bent down to help him. Anna also ran towards us. “It’s fine!”, the stranger said and finally looked up at me. “Are you sure?”, I asked as he stood up and nodded. “Are you new here?”, Anna asked. “Yes! I just moved here from California last month.”, he replied, and we both hummed awkwardly waiting for him to introduce himself. He finally caught on. “Uhm! By the way, I am Ethan!”, he said. “Hey! I am Haley and she is Anna.”, I introduced with a smile. “It is nice to meet you! Are you guys not late for class?”, he asked. “Yes, we are, but we have an urgent matter to deal with. We will see you in class Ethan.”, Anna replied and pulled me along toward Arya’s car. Ethan smiled at us and left rubbing his back again. I feel guilty for banging my door into him! “Why are you here?”, Anna asked as we reached Arya. “Well! Hello to you too, my girls.”, Arya replied. “What is happening here? Why are so many students at school today?”, I asked. “Caleb decided to celebrate his birthday at school and hold an after-party in the evening”, she told us. “Still, you guys don’t have to make the preparations?”, Anna asked. “20th birthday is some secret event in Adolf family. So, the after party is only for close friends and relatives.”, she sighed. Adolf family is one of the most powerful families in our town. But they have their own little community, and their houses are built inside the woods, making them the most mysterious ones in our town. I was thinking about the family secret that Arya mentioned when my eyes met those familiar brown eyes of- Caleb Adolf!