Chapter 01.1

The first day of my final year of school had begun. As always, I was curious to see how much the girls had changed over the summer. Spotting a few easy targets filled me with excitement as I casually adjusted my dark blond hair.

My thoughts were interrupted by my mother’s voice.

“Johnny, Amber, breakfast!”

I finished getting ready in the bathroom I shared with my sister, then headed back to my room, which was across from Amber’s. The bathroom was right next to mine. Our parents’ bedroom—with its own private bathroom—was on my side of the hallway, while the guest room was on Amber’s.

Mom kept the décor simple—light green walls and light brown furniture throughout the house—though Amber had painted her room orange and white a few years ago.

I headed downstairs for breakfast, taking the staircase next to our rooms. My sister was already at the table, sipping her tea. As usual, she was dressed in one of her eccentric, colorful outfits—pants and a separate top. Amber was tall and had a striking face like Mom’s, with brown eyes like Dad’s. Though she wasn’t particularly curvy, she had a great figure. She usually wore her long, wavy blonde hair loose.

Amber had already been in school when I was born, so she often made me feel like I had two mothers. Sometimes I found it strange that our parents indulged her whims, but she was clearly talented and passionate about what she did. She designed clothes and had attended several different design schools over the years, which explained her bold and noticeable fashion choices.

At the kitchen counter, Mom and Dad were teasing each other quietly while Dad finished scrambling the eggs. He was a tall, slightly chubby man with brown eyes and light hair. I had inherited my blue eyes from Mom, who now had reddish-brown hair and stood slightly taller than the average woman. Since she had played tennis from a young age—and still did—she was in excellent shape. She had taught me as a child, but I never enjoyed it and didn’t have much talent for it.

Mom was an incredible woman, but cooking wasn’t her strength, so Dad handled meals whenever possible. He loved good food. It was still obvious that they loved each other deeply, though thankfully, they didn’t show too much affection in front of us.

The kitchen and dining area were on one side of the stairs, while the living room was a step lower on the left. Behind the staircase, Dad had a quiet study, and near the entrance was a bathroom, along with a door leading to the garage where he kept his car. The kitchen also had a door leading to the terrace. Mom had stuck to her signature light green walls and light furniture here, just like upstairs. I liked it—it was a cozy house.

Just as the food was ready, I started shoveling it in.

“Johnny, you need to mow the lawn today. Please come home on time,” Mom said.

“Mom, today is my first day. I don’t know yet what will happen in the afternoon,” I tried to argue, though I could already tell from Dad’s amused smile that I was fighting a losing battle.

“Oh, I didn’t know there was practice today. I thought there was never practice on the first day,” she replied, a bit sarcastically.

“No, there’s no practice. It’s just… my friends and new acquaintances,” I insisted.

“Son, your girlfriends have waited for you for several weeks. They can wait until tomorrow. Please be home on time,” Mom said patiently but firmly.

“I’ll try,” I muttered under my breath.

“I think I didn’t even hear that,” Mom said without turning toward me. She considered the conversation closed and walked into the bathroom.

“At least today she didn’t pick on us,” Dad nudged Amber, grinning.

“Johnny, could you take me to school too? I need to hand out flyers for my new designs,” my sister asked.

“And how will you get home?” I asked, not particularly eager to escort her.

“Don’t worry about that. Cathy will come for me later, and we’ll go on.” Cathy was Amber’s longtime friend, though she had recently moved away, so they rarely met in person.

Slowly, everyone left home. Dad headed to his private practice, and Amber and I drove to school. Mom, an event organizer, didn’t have fixed working hours, so she stayed home today. Sometimes this made weekend family plans tricky, but we had learned to adapt.

We lived in a suburban area at the base of a large hill, where every street was higher up. Our white-walled, black-roofed house sat in the valley. We only had fences on the sides—front gates weren’t common in our neighborhood. The school was barely twenty minutes away by car.

I loved my car—a not-so-new but well-maintained dark blue, high-clearance vehicle. I had bought it a few years ago with my saved pocket money, which my parents had supplemented as a Christmas gift. As soon as we reached the school, Amber jumped out and disappeared from sight.

Our school was surrounded by greenery and located in an accessible part of the city, though not downtown. It had been recently renovated, so it was in good condition. Admission wasn’t open to everyone—academic performance mattered. Stairs led up to the main entrance, and standing at the top, I could check out all the girls as they walked in.

As expected, I spotted my friends and my best friend, Brian, at the top of the stairs. We had been friends since childhood—he’d always lived in the house across from ours. Even after his parents divorced, he stayed there with his mom. A few familiar girlfriends surrounded them, some of whom I knew quite well.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked as I approached.

“Buddy, the girls really outdid themselves this year,” Brian said with a grin, nodding toward a few girls in short skirts. We were both single now, ready for new opportunities.

Brian was about my height, with brown hair, blue eyes, and a dimple inherited from his father. All my swimming teammates wore their hair like mine—styled hair was popular with the girls.

Two of our similarly tall swimming teammates stood next to Brian. Daryl, with his naturally tanned skin, brown hair, and larger muscles, stood out among us, while Aaron completed our group with his red hair and brown eyes. Each had a girl standing beside them—Daryl’s current girlfriend was a colorful-haired girl in a leather jacket and skirt, while Aaron’s was a short blonde with glasses, impatiently tapping her foot.

I looked around. Thanks to the warm weather, skirts and tops had indeed gotten shorter. After all, first impressions on the first day were crucial. I was used to girls smiling back when I nodded at them, so I waved at a few. Blushing and loud laughter followed my gesture. I smiled to myself—my charm was still intact.

As I did every year, I signed up to help lower-year students catch up. Some had quite attractive sisters, and studying with younger students was important for my academic performance. Over time, I had found the perfect balance between dating and avoiding awkward study sessions.

Inside the school, lockers lined both sides of the hallway, with classrooms opening opposite each other. My locker was directly across from Brian’s, so we could chat there too.

The bell rang, and we said our goodbyes before heading to class. My first subject was Biology. Since I was preparing for veterinary school, I paid close attention to this class throughout the year.

In front of the classroom door, a crowd of ten to fifteen students had gathered, all scanning the paper posted on the closed door. I pushed through my classmates to find my name. The teacher had assigned groups of three, though I couldn’t figure out the criteria. The names next to mine seemed familiar, but I didn’t recognize the guy, and the girl didn’t ring a bell at all—something like Paul and Jane.

“Excuse me,” someone tapped my shoulder. “Could you step aside for a moment?”

I turned around and was met with a striking pair of blue eyes I hadn’t seen before.

“What do you want, little girl?” I asked mischievously, leaning even more against the door.

“I want to see the notice,” she replied, standing her ground without blinking.

“In exchange for a phone number,” I grinned, waiting for the usual laughter at this question.

“I’ll gladly give you my brother’s,” she said calmly, catching me off guard. I laughed—no one had ever responded so cleverly before.

Taking advantage of my momentary distraction, the girl slipped past me to check the notice, then stepped out of the crowd.

The door opened, and everyone rushed inside at once.

I took my seat, but neither the girl with the striking eyes nor my assigned teammates had entered yet.

When I saw the tall, short-haired, stout man in his forties standing quietly at the board, I realized I had heard about this teacher before. He waited patiently for everyone to settle before speaking.

One of my teammates—the girl—arrived among the last and quietly sat in the seat farthest from me. I glanced at her and greeted her.

“Hi,” I smiled at the owner of those blue eyes.

“Hi,” she replied briefly, unpacking her bag. She showed no sign of remembering our conversation outside.

I leaned back and studied her. She wasn’t particularly tall—rather short—with long, straight, medium blonde hair tied in a ponytail. Her loose-fitting shirt and jeans covered almost everything. Her blue-and-white sneakers were new, but even I had a hard time guessing what might be beneath the layers of clothing.

My observation was interrupted by the teacher clearing his throat.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m Mr. Thomas, your Biology teacher for this year. Thank you for choosing my advanced class.”

“Sorry for being late, I was sent from the teacher’s office,” a guy interrupted. “I’m Paul Tashiro, a new student.”

“Welcome to our school. Please sit next to Mr. Simmons.”