Do you know how they say that not everything will be bad forever? That the bad times will pass? What they didn’t tell you is that the good times will pass as well. Nothing can stay perfect forever. If something stays good for a long time, bad things will happen eventually. I should probably explain how I got into this mess in the first place.

My name is Nikki and I’m a freshman in high school. I hear that many kids in high school find it so difficult to keep up with studies that they start doing drugs and make their lives messed up. I won’t be one of them. At least I hope not. I always make a promise to myself at the start of every semester that I'll do better. And I do. It just isn’t consistent. Everything goes perfectly at the beginning of the year. Then, slowly I start to procrastinate and delay things till I am way behind in my classes. But I don't have to deal with the humility of that because we’re always moving. I have switched schools 12 times. Leaving people behind isn’t a problem. I don’t make many friends. I know we’ll be shifting a lot, so I don’t get too attached and just keep to myself most of the time.

I’m hoping for a fresh start here. No one knows me and my reputation. We shifted to this town called Sunset Hills and we have a beautiful house. Did I mention that my parents are famous writers? They write amazing fiction stories and I have read all of them. Many people have been “friends” with me just because my parents are famous but I’ve met enough people to know that I can’t trust them. Any of them.

Anyway, my first day of high school is tomorrow. I finished unpacking days ago. Mom insisted on me going out and explore the town. I finally listened but instead of introducing myself to my neighbors, I’m sitting on a bench in an empty park, listening to music. Suddenly I hear the rustling of branches. I spin my head in the direction I heard the noise from. It’s coming from a bunch of bushes in the dark. As I open my phone’s flashlight, I hear a thud, and all of a sudden a guy falls out of the bushes. My heart jumps out of my chest as I scream. I stay rooted to the spot, frozen because of fear. The guy, in an attempt to calm me down, waves his hands around pointlessly in the air and says in a hurried voice “SHHHHH! You’re gonna get us caught!”. 

I only have a few moments to see him properly. He has luscious brown hair, dreamy brown eyes, with a hint of kindness and he’s wearing a football jersey. He probably has all the girls drooling all over him. I don’t have time to think about it much because he grabs my hand and starts running towards a dark alley. I start to run too (didn’t really have much of a choice there). When we reach the alley, he signals me to stay silent. I nod my head. I suddenly hear a loud noise that sounds like a siren. Are those police cars? Why are they coming to a small town like Sunset Hills at this hour?” I think to myself. A thousand questions flood through my head.

As I’m thinking, I notice that the police sirens have gone past us. When I check the street I can't see anything but darkness. “Looks like the power went out,” I say. When I don’t hear a reply, I turn to face the guy. He’s looking at me. I can’t quite make out his expression because it’s really dark. “What?” I ask, getting annoyed. “Uh nothing,” he says. He averts his eyes as his cheeks turn pink. “ok…” I look at him, suspiciously. But I don’t get a chance to say anything else because my phone starts ringing. The realization hits my face. “Oh my god! I forgot I have to get back early for dinner!” I say. I hurriedly thank him and say bye. I hear him start saying “Wait-” before I hurry away. I don’t turn back to acknowledge him.

When I reach home, my mom scolds me saying “What are you doing out so late? Don’t you know there’s a curfew in this town?”. “You don’t bother to tell me anything” I reply, saltily. I suddenly realize the reason for cops roaming the streets. It’s the curfew! Not understanding the point of the curfew, I head upstairs to take a shower and freshen up before dinner. 

As soon as I finish eating dinner I excuse myself and go up to my bedroom. As I get ready for bed, I think about the mysterious guy again. I didn’t even bother to ask his name! How am I supposed to apologize for running out on him? “It doesn’t matter anyway. I probably humiliated myself enough,” I say to myself. I get in bed and turn off the lights. But I can’t sleep, which is one of my very annoying problems, so I listen to music. As I drift off to sleep, I get an uneasy feeling that something isn’t right. But I ignore it and go to sleep anyway.  

It is at 3 am that I suddenly wake up, sweating. I  had the weirdest dream. I was in high school filled with kids and I was going to my locker when I saw the same guy, talking to his friends. He was surrounded by many admirers, girls, and guys. He suddenly saw me, as if his eyes were a magnet drawn to mine. I quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught staring, and started walking to my first class. I heard his footsteps coming closer and closer, trying to catch up with me. He finally caught up and as I turned to look at him, his eyes glowed. Yes, his eyes GLOWED. 

I gasped out loud and the realization of something drew on his face and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were the same brown eyes I saw the first time. I sputtered, trying to get words out of my mouth “Y-your ey-eyes! They were glowing!”. “No it was probably just the reflection of light. It happens to me a lot,” he said, avoiding my eyes, shrugging as if nothing had happened. “I’ll see you later at lunch,” he said and then hurried away to class. This was it. This is where my dream ended. It feels so real and weird but I decide to ignore it. I wash my face with cold water and go to sleep again, thinking it is just some stupid dream. I was so very wrong.

I wake up to the sound of my alarm ringing in my ears. I shut it off and start to get dressed. As soon as I am finished getting dressed, my mom calls me. “Nikki! Come have breakfast now or you’ll be late for school!”. “Coming mom!” I reply and start to make my way downstairs. My dad offers me a ride and I happily accept. I want to go to school in my dad’s car rather than sit on the school bus alone. When I reach my new high school, my stomach lurches. It is the same high school I saw in my dream. “Something wrong kiddo?” my dad asks, frowning at me. “No dad. Everything’s fine,” I say as normally as I can. “Ok then. Have a great day at school!” my dad says as he plants a kiss on the top of my head. “Bye dad” I reply, the horrible feeling still lurking in my stomach.

As I enter the school, it feels like a weird deja vu. It’s like I’m living the dream, except it’s in real life. I start to walk but I don’t know where to go. I’m about to ask some students for directions when on instinct, I know where I’ll find my locker. I start walking straight. I don’t know what I am doing or where I’m going. It’s like my legs have a mind of their own. When I stop, I can feel the dread spreading through my body. It’s the same locker which I saw in my dream! I keep my books in it and put in a password. Then I suddenly remember what to do next and again, my head turns, on its own accord, in the direction where the guy is. I see him, talking to his friends. 

He is surrounded by many admirers, girls, and guys, just like in the dream. He suddenly sees me as if he’s a magnet drawn to my eyes, as I realize what’s about to happen next. My body urges me to do the same thing I did in the dream and I quickly look away and start walking to my first class. I hear his footsteps coming closer and closer, trying to catch up with me. He finally catches up and as I turn to look at him, I pray that I have just read too many fiction stories, but just like in the dream, his eyes glow. Yeah, you read that right. His eyes glow. In real life. I’m a hundred percent sure they don’t contact lenses. 

I gasp out loud, just like I did in the dream, the realization of something draws on his face and he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they are the same normal brown eyes I saw the first time. I sputter, trying to get words out of my mouth “Y-your ey-eyes! They were glowing!”. “No it’s just the reflection of light. It happens to me a lot,” he says, shrugging. That’s such a lame excuse and he knows it too. “I’ll see you later at lunch,” he says and then hurriedly goes away to class. I stand there still, not able to move. The boy who had hurried to catch up to me was now hurrying to get away from me. What just happened? A million thoughts run through my head but I don’t have time to consider any further theories. The bell rings and I have to get to class. I just know one thing for sure. 

My dream just came true.