The First Bell Of Fate

International High School – 11th Grade, First Day..

The first day of the new academic year dawned brightly over Starlight International High School. Golden sunlight falled across the gates, washing the white-and-blue buildings in a soft glow. It looked peaceful—serene even—but the hallways would soon tremble with teenage chaos, gossip, and the occasional high-pitched scream of someone forgetting their homework.

Somewhere across town, Luna Mateo was already running ten minutes late. Again.

“Muffin, move!” she shouted, stumbling over her cat for the third time that morning. Her shoelace was still untied, toothpaste foamed at the corner of her mouth, and one sock was suspiciously missing. She ran around like a tiny hurricane, grabbing her backpack, her math notebook, and a squished sandwich from the fridge, all while humming an off-key version of a pop song.

She was a disaster. A cute one, but a disaster nonetheless.

Despite the chaos, her voice when she sang—even by accident—had the clarity of spring water. That was Luna. A living contradiction. Clumsy feet. Angelic voice.

At exactly 7:38 a.m., Liya James—her best friend since diapers—rang the doorbell. Liya stood there in perfect uniform, hair brushed, books aligned in her bag with annoying precision..

“Are you wearing two different shoes?” Liya asked, raising one eyebrow.

Luna looked down.

“Oh, God!—just walk and don’t look down,” she muttered as she grabbed Liya’s arm and dragged her along.

They had been inseparable since childhood, and even though their families weren’t close anymore, the girls still clung to each other like life jackets in a teenage ocean.

Today felt different. Maybe it was the breeze or the way the clouds floated just a little too perfectly. Maybe it was destiny. Or maybe it was the fact that two new students—both boys—were transferring into Class 11A.

Alan Bryce stepped through the school gates like he owned the air around him.

He was tall. Too tall. His black hair fell over his forehead in a messy-but-expensive kind of way, and his headphones rested around his neck like a shield. He didn’t look up. Didn’t make eye contact. His bag was light, and so was his expression—blank, unreadable.

Students turned. Girls whispered. Even teachers glanced.

Right behind him strolled Edwin Hector, who was, in every way, Alan’s opposite. He wore the top two buttons of his shirt open, sunglasses on his head despite it being 8 a.m., and had a thousand-watt grin that could melt ice cream from ten feet away.

“Dude, you’re causing a storm already,” Edwin nudged Alan. “This school has zero chill.”

Alan just sighed. He didn’t do ‘chill.’ Or talking. Or attention.

Luna, still panting from their sprint to the school gate, crashed headfirst into her destiny. Literally.

She turned a corner too fast and slammed right into Alan’s chest, sending her books and sandwich flying like tragic confetti.

“Oh no!” she gasped, squatting down in a flurry to gather her things. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t—”

Alan bent down silently, picking up her math notebook before she could.

She looked up.

Time froze.

His eyes were dark, unreadable. Her heart tried to do the macarena.

He handed her the notebook.

“Be careful,” he said quietly.

Then he walked away like he hadn’t just stepped out of a K-drama scene.

Behind her, Liya muttered, “Did you just have a main-character moment?”

“I think I did,” Luna whispered, stunned. “And my sandwich is on the floor.”

In the classroom, the seats were shuffled, students buzzing with the thrill of change.

The class teacher, Ms. Sophia, entered like a gentle breeze. Young, pretty, and unusually understanding, she smiled warmly as she scanned the room.

“Class, we have two new students joining us today,” she announced. “Please welcome Alan Bryce and Edwin Hector.”

The polite applause was immediate.

Alan gave a short nod. Edwin winked at three girls in a row.

In the back of the room, Ethan Charles rolled his eyes and went back to solving math problems in his notebook. The class never noticed him. No one did. Not really.

Well… except Ms. Sophia. Her eyes lingered on him a second longer.

At lunch, the seating drama reached its peak. Luna and Liya sat together, laughing over their childhood memories and speculating about the new boys.

Liya leaned closer. “You know, if I had to pick—Edwin has the kind of face that makes you text your ex ‘I’m fine’ just to make them jealous.”

Luna giggled. “Alan looks like he reads poetry and watches the rain.”

“Girl, he looks like he is the rain.”

Across the cafeteria, Edwin—true to form—had already made friends with half the class. Alan? He sat under a tree, earbuds in, eyes closed, world shut out.

Except when he opened them—and noticed Luna staring.

She yelped and dropped her spoon.

Later that day, Ms. Sophia made an announcement that would unknowingly set the gears of fate in motion.

“The school music club is holding auditions tomorrow. Singers, instrumentalists, composers—everyone’s welcome.”

Luna’s hands trembled. Her heart leapt.

Liya nudged her. “You have to do it.”

“I don’t sing in front of people.”

“You sing to your cat.”

“My cat doesn’t judge!”

From across the room, Alan glanced at the poster. Something unreadable flickered in his eyes.

That night, Luna lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, humming softly. She thought about the boy with the quiet eyes, about the song she never dared to sing aloud, and about how, maybe, this school year wouldn’t be ordinary after all.

Maybe, just maybe, everything was about to change.

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