So This is Love

The Journey The truck shook so bad it almost threw me out of the seat. Old thing never liked the road. I leaned my head on the window. Cold glass. It steadied me more than the seat did, and God knows the seat never stopped shaking. Cold. At least steadier than the seat.Outside, the sky was waking up, pale at the edges. I saw myself in the window. My own eyes looked too wide, lashes twitching every time the tires slammed into another hole. I hated that. I looked nervous.Dad had one hand on the wheel. His fingers started drumming on the dash, the way he always did when the quiet stretched too long. Not a song, not even a rhythm, just tap… tap-tap… like he couldn’t sit still. Every so often his eyes cut toward me, quick, like maybe I wouldn’t notice. I did. Of course I did. He’d never been good at hiding things. Quick ones. Like he thought he might catch my thoughts if he moved fast enough.“You don’t look half as happy as when that letter showed up,” he said finally. His voice was ro

The Meeting The first week in the city felt like walking inside a dream someone else had written for me.The campus was too wide, too lively. Stone buildings reached higher than the roofs back home, their shadows cutting across lawns dotted with students who moved like they’d been born here. Laughter and chatter overlapped everywhere, a hundred voices tangled in one restless hum. The air even smelled different—coffee drifting from the café by the library, grass sharp under the sun, and the faint exhaust of cars groaning along the busy road that framed the gates.Kim hadn’t seemed fazed at all.“Norah,” she said, looping her arm through mine, “I don’t care if my school’s across the city. You’re stuck with me every weekend. Shopping, food stalls, maybe even a club if I can drag you. Don’t argue—you’ll thank me later”.Kim’s grip on my arm was so tight I almost winced. Like she thought holding me that way would make her promise stick. I rolled my eyes, but the smile still came. Couldn’t

The Party The door flew open before she could spiral too far.“Norah!”Mary tumbled in, curls bouncing, face flushed from the cold. She was clutching a crumpled flyer like it was treasure. “Party tonight! Off-campus. Big house, music, lights. You’re coming.”Norah blinked. “What? Tonight?”“Sí, tonight.” Mary dropped the flyer on her lap. “And no excuses. You’ve been hiding in here like a monk. This is college, not a convent.”Norah laughed nervously. “I’m not much of a party person.”Mary gasped, hand to her chest. “Not a party person? Dios mío, this is your first year. You can’t spend it buried in books while brujas like Rose walk all over you. You need to be seen.” She narrowed her eyes, lips curving. “And maybe let a few boys fall in love with you.”“Mary!” Norah covered her face, cheeks burning.Mary only grinned, already at her closet. “You are not walking in there with those grandma sweaters. No, no. Tonight, you shine.” Mary dove into the closet, tossing clothes everywhere. H

Chapter 7Norah was half on, half off the bed, hurling a pillow at Mary while Mary scrolled at the desk like she owned the place. The room felt small and safe tonight, full of ridiculous noise that chased the heaviness away for a while.“You almost ripped Rose’s head off,” Norah said, snorting.Mary tossed her hair, theatrical as ever. “Almost? If looks killed, she’d be a chalk outline on the floor, honest.”Norah chuckled, shaking her head. “You’re impossible.”She kept a smile stuck in, warm and weird in her chest — like nerves wearing a sweater.Before Mary could reply, Norah’s phone lit up. Kim – Incoming Video Call.“Pick it up, pick it up!” Mary urged, practically diving onto the bed with her.Norah swiped, and Kim’s face filled the screen. “Norah! Finally! Girl, spill it—how’s school?”Norah opened her mouth, but Mary leaned into the camera before she could speak. “Forget school. Did she tell you about the party?”Kim’s eyes widened. “Party? Our Norah?!”Norah groaned, covering

Chapter 9By Friday, Norah felt like she could sink through the floor.Every hallway, every classroom, every corner of campus had her name buzzing through it.“She’s a model. My cousin swears she saw her in a magazine.”“No way—she turned down a movie role in. Her mom wanted her in nursing.”“I heard she doesn’t even wear deodorant. She just smells perfect.”The whispers trailed her like gnats. Norah hugged her books tighter and ducked her head. This wasn’t the kind of attention she wanted—she never wanted attention at all.She slipped into her seat in anatomy class, praying for five minutes of quiet. But the girl beside her leaned over, eyes wide.“Is it true? You rejected a modeling contract?”Norah blinked. “What? No. Who even says this stuff?”From the next row: “Have you kissed an actor?”Her mouth fell open. “What? No!”“She’s being modest,” a blonde girl chimed, dreamy-eyed. “Ivan fought a boy over her last weekend.”The heat crawled up Norah’s neck. Her jaw locked. Ivan? Why d