C3 Why can't first days be easy

My alarm rings at the same time it does every morning-by six a.m. I wake up rejuvenated, the memories of last night a blurry haze. Excitement gets the better part of me and I quickly rush to get ready. I take a bath and dress up in a pink sundress and brown sandals. I put on light makeup and put my hair in a half-up, half-down hairstyle. If I must say, I look good for the first day.

I go to the sitting room when I'm done and see that breakfast has already been served with Mum already munching on hers. "Thank you, Mum, for this."

"Don't mention the baby." She made my favourite breakfast consisting of blueberry pancakes and omelettes. As I sit down to eat she stands up to prepare my tea. I need it to calm my nerves.

"Thank you, mum." I finish my breakfast and tea in record time before clearing the table. Before long we get into the car so Mum can drop me off at Haven College.

"Bye, sweetie," my mum calls out as she speeds off after dropping me at school. I linger in the same spot, looking at the countless luxury cars parked, overwhelmed with nerves. Since I'm early and I don't know anyone, I decide to just wander around for a while to find my first class. Eventually, I find the class, which is a really huge hall. I sit down in the back and listen to the professor introduce herself. She seems really nice, and I start to feel a little bit better.

After class, I go to the cafeteria for lunch. I meet a few people in line, and we start talking. I feel a little bit lost and out of place, but I am excited to be here. I bond with a pretty girl named Candace on the line and we decide to find a sit together. She and most of the students here attended Haven high, the high school of Haven college and she schools me on the hierarchy of things in Haven College. She also has been here since her first year unlike me

"Hey, how has your first day been like?" She asks me after taking the first bite out of her food.

"It's been good, normal," I tell her while looking around the cafeteria. I spot some of the people I saw in the diner on the day my mum and I moved and ask Candace about them.

"Who are those guys?" She follows the line of my gaze and quickly says

"Don't look at them for too long, they don't like it." I'm confused by her statement but decide not to question it.

"So, who are they? I ask again.

"In Haven College, there's a hierarchy, and you must be careful not to get noticed by the top dogs. You see those people on that table, avoid them. We have the most popular and extremely rich people there. Number one on that list is Dominic Powers. The first and only son of a billionaire is also extremely handsome, as you can see. Number two is his younger sister; Rosie Powers, and she is spoiled to the core. Number three; Zayn Jackson and Liam Jackson, twin brothers. Best friends with Dominic and also have extremely rich parents. Finally, Stephanie Gates; from what I've heard, she's the only child of her parents. This girl, in particular, has serious issues. Issues as in she's one hell of a crazy bitch. As in she belongs in an asylum crazy. It doesn't help that she's obsessed with Dominic and he treats her like a fly on his favourite dish.

This girl, in particular, has serious issues. Issues as in she's one hell of a crazy bitch. As in she belongs in an asylum crazy. It doesn't help that she's obsessed with Dominic and he treats her like a fly on his favourite dish."

Before she can go on I stop her and ask " How do you know all this?"

"Honey, I've lived in this town for so long I know lots of things and these things aren't even a secret. Now, as I was saying, try your best to avoid them and you'll be fine. They don't like outsiders."

"Outsiders?" I question.

"Yeah, people who were not born in this town and aren't part of their social circle. Meaning they don't like most of us in this school and they usually stick to themselves. This also applies to most students in this school. Just because they are rich they treat the rest of us like we don't exist." She sounds so pained but I don't care. I would even love to be ignored by them. If the bullies in my former town ignored me I would have been elated.

"Well, as long as we don't bother each other I don't care. I'm just glad to have this opportunity to attend this school so I have a chance at a good high paying job." I know I'm lying as I say this. I am already captivated by these people and I know might not be able to stay away. Looking at Dominic again I can't help but stare at him. He is so handsome, my stomach flutters as I stare at him and it's only cadence’s voice that snaps me out of my Dominic trance.

"I wish I could be as unbothered as you are." She replies.

We continue our lunch in comfortable silence and afterward, go our separate ways since we have different classes. I go to my second class. This class is smaller therefore more intimate. I enjoy this class-history404- it's one of my majors.

When the final bell goes off, I'm so excited I can jump off a cloud.

My mum isn't picking me up and I'm not taking the bus so I start the tedious process of walking home since my house isn't too far from school. It doesn't take too long to get home and I immediately go to bed to sleep off the stress of my first day. Instead of the deep dreamless sleep I expect, I'm greeted by a dream again.

I'm walking to a pond where a beautiful woman with black hair waits for me. She looks up at me when I get to her feet, grabs my hand, and says

"Be formless. Shapeless. Like water. Now, you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put water into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend."

"Who are you?” I ask

"I am you, you are me, you are us, we are one, we are water." She turns and walks into the pond.

"Hey! Stop! I'm confused." Instead of responding to my calls, she continues her way into the pond.

This time when I wake up I don't go back to sleep. I stay awake, wondering why I've had this dream twice. Ironically, the sound of wolves howling serves as a source of solitude as I contemplate what the dream means. It's not like I know the woman. I don't think I've ever seen her before so why is this dream becoming a recurring one?

The tossing and turning from the dream made me hot so I go to open my windows. Standing in front of the window, I notice something on the window pane. Looking closer at it, it's a children's story book. I wonder how this got here. I take it to my bed and get comfortable before opening it to read it. Clearing my throat, I read aloud.

"Once upon a time, in the golden palace of the kingdom of Aeternum, preparation for the celebration of the birth of the princess is in order. The king and queen want this party to be marked in the history of celebrations as the greatest. All the staff move in haste to close the chapters of the last-minute preparations. Fortunately, the beautiful princess coos happily in her nursery undisturbed by the hustle and bustle. Unfortunately, the princess is kidnapped and no celebration happens. The king and queen are left hoping to one day find their children."

I vaguely remember this story from my bedtime stories with mom. But why was it on my window? and why is it in my room? I know I didn't bring it here.