"New Day, Same Situation"

The next morning had come too fast, and Celeste was already running late… again. As if the last seven years had never happened, she fit right back into her high school schedule.

Of course my mom didn’t wake me up, some things never change, she thought to herself, trying to convince herself it wasn’t her fault.

Celeste anxiously tried to put her clothes on and grab her bag, but as she tried to multitask too much she knocked over the hot cup of coffee she had just hurriedly prepared for herself.

Damn it, she laughed, seeing how she hadn’t changed one bit from her time back in high school. She started feeling deja-vu, reliving all the silly mistakes she made on the regular back then.

As she cleaned up her mess she finally made her way outside, and rushed her way to school, trying not to sweat too much from the run so as not to show up at school with huge sweat stains.

It was still the end of summer after all, the scorching sun didn’t rest, even in the early morning.

Arriving a couple minutes late, she swung open the classroom door as if she had never left the school, bursting with confidence to continue her goals with Lucien.

As she gradually noticed everyone sneaking glances her way as she walked in, she felt a sense of comfort.

The collection of familiar faces she hadn’t seen in many years, that she could finally give the time of day, since the confusion from yesterday had dissipated, triggered a library of memories within her mind.

Just as she started to get lost in her thoughts, standing in the doorway, she was snapped back into reality.

“Do I need to repeat myself, Celeste? You are already late, stop disturbing the class by standing there, and take a seat.” The teacher’s eyes drilled into her as she started hearing the impatient tapping on his desk.

He gestured towards her chair as Celeste rushed to answer, “Yes, sir! I’m sorry!”

As she made her way to her desk, the echoing giggles from the class started to fade while Mr. Brulenfort, the teacher, introduced the topic they were covering.

Adelaide leaned towards Celeste, still facing forward, “Good Morning, Celeste. But really, late again?”

Adelaide patiently waited for a response that never came, and as she turned to grab Celeste’s attention, she saw her staring out into space.

A soft smirk started to appear on Adelaide’s face as she leaned even closer to Celeste, “What are you staring at, or rather, who? That Lucien boy certainly caught your eye, didn’t he?”

Hearing his name suddenly made Celeste turned her head sharply, trying to defend her case, “No- no! I was just thinking about…. whether lunch would be pizza or meatballs today!”

“Sure you were,” replied Adelaide, letting her chair rest on all four legs again, and leaning back in her chair. “You don’t have to hide anything from me. I know you all too well.”

As Celeste rolled her eyes, she muttered “Oh don’t act like some psychic, I barely met the kid yesterday,”

“Don’t test me Celeste, you slept too late because you were thinking about that boy. Then you proceeded to wake up late this morning because your mom didn’t wake you, again, and as you tried to get ready in a hurry you knocked everything over, coming even later than usual.” Adelaide declared, seeing Celeste visibly shocked with every additional sentence.

“No! I mean, how.. how did yo—” Celeste tried to say, before being interrupted by Adelaide’s overconfident voice.

“Like I said, I know you. Don’t you lie to me again you knucklehead” she said, glowing with pride due to the stunt she just pulled off.

As the sound of chalk on the board screeched through their ears, a faint laughter could be heard from Celeste’s left.

Laughing at my mistakes and love interests? Oh no you don’t, she said to herself, as she slid her eyes over to the left.

Celeste pouted, “You have no right to laugh Lena! You liked the new boy last year!” she exclaimed, loud enough for the entire class to hear.

“Is there a problem?” the teacher prompted, trying to quiet everyone down.

As everyone started to settle down, she turned around to see if Lucien had heard her.

What stared back at her was Lucien’s hazel eyes again, as he tried to hide his wry smile, to ignore what she had said before.

As their eyes made contact, Celeste felt a flutter in her heart, a sensation she hadn’t experienced in years.

Oh he totally knows, shit, she deduced.

Her cheeks started to turn rosy as she tried to cover her face, only to notice a pinkish color starting to creep up Lucien’s face as well.

“You’re not too secretive about it, are you?” Lena, Celeste’s long time classmate and friend, whispered to her as Celeste turned back around.

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As time seemed to be passing ever so slowly, the bell finally rang.

Time for lunch, finally! Celeste celebrated.

Her stomach was growling louder than she could think, since she hadn’t had breakfast that day.

She gathered her things and made her way to her table she always sat at. Just then, she felt a familiar tap on her shoulder.

She cocked her head back to see who it was, and to her surprise, it was Lucien.

She got so startled that she tipped over backwards, about to fall on the floor, together with the chair.

“Celeste!” he exclaimed, stretching out his arms to catch her fall. “Are you alright?”

The awkwardness of the situation didn’t even allow her to look Lucien in the eyes. “Yes, I’m sorry, that’s embarrassing.”

“Don’t apologize, It’s my fault I snuck up on you like that,” he replied, trying to laugh it off. “Well, what I was going to ask is if you would mind me sitting with you and your friends during lunch.”

Her eyes sparkled at his request. “YE— yes, of course you can” she stammered, stopping herself before she got too carried away.

As he took his tray and sat down, their eyes met again, and just for a moment, a spark seemed to pass through the two of them.”

Why does being near her feel so comfortable, or I guess, familiar?  he wondered.