I wore my lucky bracelet, smiling and dancing gracefully as I walked down the stairs.

I was ready for my first day at school in a new class and a new desk.

I saw the cook setting the dinning table

"Good morning, Miss Zara". I smiled and took a seat.

"Morning. I don't need to ask, I can tell you slept really well".

She laughed and I joined in.

" Where is everyone?". I asked while munching on my breakfast. It was a sunny side - up egg and toast with a cup of tea. Miss Zara always made an extra egg for me.

" Mr. Daniel left for a meeting already. Your mum is probably in Mark's room, waiting for him to dress up. Jay will be down in a moment".

She poured herself a glass of water and set it beside her.

"Have you had breakfast?". I asked as I took another toast, spread some peanut butter on it, and gave it to her.

"Eat this and have some tea". I smiled at her.

"Thank you, but I think you should have your tea. I'll make a new one". She gave me a reassuring smile and headed to the kitchen.

I stood up as I heard approaching footsteps from the stairs.

Mrs. Grace, Jay and Mark settled at the dining table.

"Good morning, Mum. I'll be on my way now", I said as she poured herself a glass of water and gulped it all down. Mum had a habit of drinking a glass of water before breakfast.

"You and Jay have to leave together". I picked up my backpack and tidied my hair a bit more.

"Jay hasn't even had breakfast. I don't want to be late on my first day of school".

"It's just 7:15. Why the rush?".

I rolled my eyes and walked away as I mumbled,

"I'll wait in the car".

"Stephanie!" I turned and saw Mark running towards me with a small box.

" I went to the store with mum yesterday. I saw this and wanted to give it to you. I hope you like it".

He placed it in my hands and ran back to his seat.

"I didn't see you picking it out though", Mum said, half-smiling.

Mark smiled back. I walked out still wondering what could be in the box.

"You got something for Stephanie, what about mine?" Jay said jokingly.

Mark smiled and continued munching on his breakfast.

"Zara!". Grace took a sip of her tea before standing up and walking into the kitchen. She found Zara wiping down the toaster.

Grace walked over to the refrigerator.

"Why didn't you join us for breakfast?".

" I had breakfast with Stephanie earlier". Zara walked over to the sink, turned on the faucet and washed her hands.

Grace took a bottle of orange juice from the refrigerator.

" Oh, I thought you felt uncomfortable joining us at the dining table". She smiled at her.

"That's a relief. Get me a glass....uhh, two glasses". She walked out.

Zara took two glasses and followed her out.

"Good morning, Miss Zara", Mark said happily.

"Good morning, Miss Zara", Jay added while spreading butter on his toast.

"Morning, boys. Your night was great, it's obvious". She placed the glasses on the table.

Jay ate the last piece of his toast, finished his tea, and picked up his bag.

"Mum, I'm leaving. I don't want to keep Stephanie waiting.

"You're not permitted to stay out late, okay?" Mrs. Grace emphasized.

"Yes, ma'am". He replied sarcastically.

"Bye, Mark. Bye, Miss Zara". He walked out and got into the car.

"Why do you eat like a sloth?". Stephanie blurted out, clearly irritated.

"Is that question for me?". Jay squirted at her as if searching for an answer in her eyes.

"Whatever". She looked away.

He pulled out his laptop and signaled the driver to start driving. The car immediately pulled away from the house.

"Why did Dad change the driver again?" Stephanie asked, staring out the window.

"I don't know. Something happened, I guess". He pulled a cord from his bag and connected it to his laptop and phone.

Stephanie turned to him.

"Do you have an Idea?".

"What'd I say earlier?". He raised an eyebrow.

"No. Sounds easy". She smacked her lips and looked away.

"Isn't that Belle?" Jay suddenly asked, looking through the window.

Stephanie turned and saw a girl walking down the lane.

"Belle!" She rolled down the window and waved at her. The girl smiled and waved back.

"Can you stop the car, please?". Stephanie asked the driver.

"No, he can't", jay said, his eyes fixed on his laptop.

"Why? She's a friend".

"Mrs. Grace instructed me not to make any stops until you arrive at your school", the driver explained.

"Seriously?". Stephanie rolled her eyes and went back to scrolling through her phone.

The car remained quiet until they reached the school. The driver parked just outside the school gate.

Stephanie put on her headphones, picked up her backpack, and got out of the car.

"Next time, I think it's best to drive in. It's a long walk from out here", Jay said while putting his laptop back into his bag.

He got out of the car and caught up with Stephanie.

"We'll meet at the cafeteria during lunch". They went their separate ways.

Stephanie walked straight to her locker. She placed her headphones, backpack, and phone inside before taking out her earbuds and tablet.

She walked into her classroom and immediately noticed a few faces she didn't recognize from her previous class. She took a seat by the window, put her earbuds in, and opened her novel app.

***

Jay walked into his classroom after dropping his things in his locker. He took a seat in the last row, the third seat from the back. A girl walked in with her hair tied into a messy bun.

"Hi, can I sit here?". She stood beside the empty seat next to him.

"You could sit anywhere". He leaned back and smiled.

She chuckled before sitting down.

"How was the break?"

"Good. You sure you wanna sit there?". He raised an eyebrow.

She ignored him and leaned closer, clearly trying to kiss him.

"What are you doing?" Jay immediately pulled away.

"There could be CCTV cameras in here". He stood up.

"Come on. Just once, please". She followed him.

"I just want to know how it feels like. I just want to try it once".

" It doesn't work that way, Mira". He shook his head

"Do it once and you'll probably want more".

"I know....". She sighed and returned to her seat.

"We're in grade 10. You're brilliant. Once you're out of school, you can make your own decisions, but starting this now could become a huge distraction for both of us". Jay returned to his seat.

Mira lowered her head into her desk.

A few seconds later, he quietly handed her a tissue.

"I'm sorry".

She took it and wiped her face.

"I should say sorry too. I shouldn't have asked you. I just thought it would be better to ask someone I'm close to..someone decent rather than sone random person". She looked down.

"But I'm sorry". She stood up and walked out of the classroom.

A few minutes later, the classroom was full.

[PA chime].

"GOOD MORNING, AND WELCOME BACK. IT'S WONDERFUL TO SEE EVERYONE AS WE BEGIN A NEW SEMESTER. I HOPE YOUR BREAK WAS RESTFUL AND YOU'RE READY FOR NEW LEARNING,

NEW CHALLENGES, AND NEW CHANCES TO GROW.

A FEW REMINDERS AS WE BEGIN.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR SCHEDULE AND MATERIALS FOR EACH CLASS.

LUNCH MENUS FOR THE MONTH ARE POSTED OUTSIDE THE CAFETERIA.

AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS WILL BEGIN NEXT WEEK. SIGN-UP SHEETS ARE AVAILABLE IN THE FRONT DESK.

TO OUR TWELFTH GRADERS, YOU ARE NOW THE LEADERS OF OUR SCHOOL. THIS SEMESTER, I'M ASKING YOU TO SHOW KINDNESS TO YOUNGER STUDENTS, TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR WORK, AND REPRESENT OUR SCHOOL WITH PRIDE.

STEPHANIE AND BELLE, IN GRADE 5, PLEASE COME TO THE MAIN OFFICE WHEN YOU HEAR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO ALL THAT WE ACCOMPLISH TOGETHER. HAVE A GREAT FIRST DAY EVERYONE. THANK YOU".

[PA chime].

Stephanie stood up and headed straight to the main office. She pushed the door open.

"Good morning, principal Bennett".

Belle wasn't here yet, she noticed.

Principal Bennett was busy searching through the drawer behind his desk. He stood up with a bunch of files in his hands and returned to his chair.

"Morning, Stephanie. You good?". He began arranging the files.

"Yeah".

"Have a seat". Stephanie sat down in one of the chairs in front of him.

"Where's belle?" He raised his head and adjusted his glasses.

"We came separately".

"Oh, okay. Here".

He handed her two sheets of paper. Stephanie took them and read through. The headline immediately caught her attention.

CERTIFICATE OF DOUBLE PROMOTION.

Her name was written on it. Stephanie gasped.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Remember, you're in my office".

Principal Bennett gave her a warning look.

"I'm sorry, sir. But this says I could skip a grade. Like.....I could go to grade 6?"

She smiled brightly.

"Yes. The school board and I recommended you and Belle. You both had an outstanding performance last semester".

"I am so grateful. I mean.....I never knew skipping a grade was possible". She clasped her hands together.

"Thank you so much, principal Bennett. I promise we won't disappoint you".

"I know you won't, you can move to your new class and remember to give that to Belle".

"Yes. Thank you so much, sir". She stood up and walked out of the office.

A huge smile spread across her face as she walked down the hallway. She practically didn't have anything in her old class, so she decided to go straight to grade 6, class 2.

She stood outside the classroom for a minute, staring down at the floor and smiling like the ground had just told her the funniest joke. She chuckled.

She tidied her hair and adjusted her skirt. She was ready.

She placed her hand on the doorknob.

Then-- Bump!

Someone nudged her aside. She quickly steadied herself before she could fall. She turned around.

Tiana? Is this her class?.

Tiana was the talk of the school, even though she was just in grade 6. She was effortlessly pretty, with gold cuffs woven into her knotless braids, a phone in one hand and an iced latte in the other.

She didn't even apologize. She simply gave stephanie a quick, practiced smile and walked into the classroom like she owned the place.

Of course, Tiana's dad was on the school board. Tiana had gotten a 104 in Math and was the reason half of the class had to redo their book reports.

Stephanie wondered why they hadn't asked her to skip a grade. She walked into the classroom. Lucky me, the homeroom teacher was already there.

"Hi".she turned to her. She stood in front of the class.

"Hi. Principal Bennett said I should be here".

"Oh, yeah. You're Belle, right?".

"No. I'm Stephanie".

"Yeah, sorry. He already told me that two girls would be joining my class. I'm sorry, Belle was just easier to remember".

She nodded.

"I'm Karen. Miss Karen".

"Nice". She smiled.

"Introduce yourself. Say hi to your new classmate. Stephanie turned toward the class.

"Hi, I'm Stephanie and I hope we get along well".

"Alright. You can take a seat beside Tiana". Her smile faded.

Beside Tiana? She looked toward the seat beside her. Why does it have to be that one? She sighed.

She slowly walked over and sat down.

Then she turned toward her.

"Hi", she mumbled.

"Yeah?" Tiana dropped her phone onto the desk and took another sip of her drink.

"I'm Stephanie".

"Everyone knows that".

She opened her locker and handed Stephanie a workbook.

"Principal Bennett said to give you this".

"Thanks".

Tiana smirked. "You know you stole this from me, right? I would've been in seventh grade". She stood up and picked up her phone.

"Congratulations, bitch". She walked out.

Stephanie watched her leave, completely caught off guard. Surprise, confusion, and that awful guilty weight all crashed over her at once.

Belle walked in shortly after. She was introduced to the class and told to sit two rows away from her.

Deep down, she wished she could switch seats. If she were Tiana, she probably wouldn't want to see someone she didn't like sitting right next to her either.

She sighed heavily.

****

Lights crawled in through the windows. Grace had just returned after dropping Mark off at school. She walked into the room and found Daniel in the bedroom.

"Hey, baby". Grace smiled and leaned in for a kiss.

They kissed for a moment before she pulled away.

"How long have you been waiting?". Grace asked as she loosened his tie.

"Not long". He smiled and kissed her neck.

"You know we can't do this now, right?" She pulled away and stood up.

"Fine, let's go". Daniel grabbed his car keys and walked out.

"Where are you going?" Grace asked puzzled.

"The mall, I thought that's what you said".

"Not the mall. We're going to Jay and Stephanie's school".

"Why?" He looked genuinely confused.

"Principal Megan invited us. I don't know. I think it's about jay".

"Jay?" Grace nodded.

"Yeah Jay".

Daniel looked at her for a moment before following her out.