Book of Fate

 It was morning and the sun was already rising when someone suddenly shouted from downstairs.

 “Daniella! It’s already late! Get up or you’ll be late for school!” yelled Daniella’s mother.

 But it seemed Daniella didn’t hear her—she was still sound asleep, mouth open and not moving at all.

 “Honestly, it’s the same scene every year with this daughter of mine,” her mother muttered as she climbed the old stairs leading to Daniella’s room. Upon entering, she saw that Daniella was still fast asleep.

 “Daniella! Get up, it’s already late. It’s your first day as a senior in high school, and here you are—still sleeping!”

 Daniella slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was her mother’s furrowed brow.

 “Good morning, senyorita. Your breakfast is ready,” her mom teased playfully.

 “Really? Okay, I’ll follow you to the kitchen in a bit,” Daniella replied groggily, which made her mom pinch her ear.

 “Ouch, Mom! I just woke up!”

 “Don’t start with me, Daniella! Get up and eat before you leave. It’s such a chore waking you up! You’re worse than a rich girl with a team of maids!”

 While her mother continued to scold her, Daniella quickly got out of bed and rushed out of the room.

 “Mom really is louder than an alarm clock. But to be fair—she’s effective,” Daniella said with a smile as she walked toward the kitchen.

 While she was eating, her mom came down and started scolding her again.

 “You little rascal, I was still talking to you, and you just walked away from me again!”

 “Come on, Mom. It’s too early for all that noise,” Daniella complained as she chewed.

 “Well, you should be! Look at the clock. You’re already late!”

 Daniella turned to look at the wall clock—and to her shock, she only had 30 minutes left before the school gate would close. She quickly stuffed hotdogs and rice into her mouth without even chewing properly. Then she dashed to the bathroom, took a quick shower, got ready, and said goodbye to her mom.

---

Daniella’s school was close by, but if she didn’t leave early, she’d definitely get locked out. That’s why she was walking-rushing now just to make it on time.

 As she reached the gate, the security guard was just about to close it.

 “Sir, wait!” she shouted, raising her hand.

 The guard, Mr. Tony, looked back at her.

 “You haven’t changed, Daniella. Still late, as always. Go on in. Your class is about to start.”

 “Thanks, Mr. Tony!” she called back, waving as she ran toward her classroom. Thankfully, the teacher hadn’t arrived yet.

 She sat beside her best friend, Bree.

 “Good thing you woke up,” Bree teased.

 “Obviously I’m alive—you can see me, right?” Daniella replied with a smirk and a roll of her eyes.

 “Still sarcastic, huh? What I meant was, at least you weren’t late. Otherwise, you’d already have an absence on the first day.”

 “Thanks to my loud mom. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

 The class suddenly fell silent as their teacher entered.

 “Good morning, class. I just want to inform you that you’ll all be in the same section again this year. But there will be a new addition.”

 Everyone in Section C exchanged curious looks. They’d been classmates for almost four years, so they were all very familiar with one another.

 “Dan, do you think the new student is a transferee?” Bree asked.

 “I don’t know. Let’s just wait and see.”

 “You can come in now,” the teacher called out.

 The door opened. A few seconds passed before the new student walked in—and Daniella felt like her world stopped when she saw who it was.

 “Introduce yourself,” the teacher said.

 “Good morning. I'm William,” he said briefly, with no emotion on his face.

 Bree noticed how Daniella seemed frozen in her seat and immediately shook her arm.

 “You look like an idiot!”

 “Bree… tell me this is just a dream. William isn’t really our classmate now, is he?”

 “Yeah, it’s just a dream. Because you’re still sleeping and dreaming,” Bree teased, playing along.

 Daniella shot her a sharp glare.

 “Seriously, Dan. This is strange. William has always been in Section A every year here at school, right? He’s one of the top students—and now he’s in Section C? Why?”

 Daniella herself was wondering why William had been transferred to their class this year. She turned her gaze to the front—and caught William looking in their direction. She froze, like she was paralyzed.

 The teacher spoke again.

 “You’re probably wondering why William Franco transferred here. He’s one of the top students in your batch. But this year, we’re implementing a new program. William will be the tutor of one of you.”

 The students began murmuring.

 “So now, take out an index card. Write your full name and pass it forward. William, you’ll draw one.”

 “Yes, ma’am,” the class replied in unison.

 Everyone wrote their names and passed their index cards forward. The teacher handed them to William. Without wasting time, the teacher laid all the cards out in front of him.

 William silently passed his fingers over the index cards. Almost every girl in the class was secretly praying for him to draw their name.

 Finally, his finger stopped on one card. He picked it up.

 “Daniella Sanchez,” he said calmly.

 But it seemed Daniella didn’t hear her name.

 “Hey! He picked you!” Bree said, shaking her shoulder.

 “Huh? What?”

 “You nutcase! You’re the one William’s going to tutor. What on earth were you thinking about?!”

 Daniella turned to the front—and just then, her eyes met William’s. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t even blink.

 “Dan, are you okay? The wind might blow you away and you’ll stay like that forever!” Bree joked.

 Daniella snapped out of it, but when she looked back, William was no longer staring at them.

 “Okay, class. Back to your seats. Mr. William, please sit to the right of Miss Sanchez, across from her.”

 Time seemed to stop for Daniella. William was only a few inches away from her. He sat down quietly and calmly, while Daniella grew more restless. She kept sneaking glances at him.

 “This might just be the best year of high school ever…” Daniella thought, holding back a smile.