“A new year, a new you,” is what they always say. I guess that could never apply to me, even after starting the first year of high school. I had always insisted on lying in my bed for thirty minutes before getting up, and even after having vowed to get up a little early after winter break is over, today was no different.

After finally getting out of my bed, I looked around my room. It was messy as always, with a few socks carelessly thrown aside on the ground, stacks of origami paper on my desk, and a few textbooks I was too lazy to put back on my small bookshelf. I wondered when I should clean my room, then, not wanting to actually clean it, I tried to forget that thought.

It was only after I looked at everything else that I turned back to look at my clock. Then I remembered that winter break ended today. I looked at my school schedule near my bed, forgetting when school starts for a moment, then back at my clock. I was going to be late for school.

I immediately threw on a jacket and a pair of sweatpants and ran to the bathroom. I was a mess. My long, brown hair was just long enough not to cover my dark brown eyes. But at least they were covering the minor acne on my forehead that I was always conscious about. I thought about going back to bed to sleep for a while more, but my mother’s voice calling me for breakfast got me moving. I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth, and I ran into the kitchen without bothering to take my daily morning shower.

“Hey there, slow-poke. Did you stay up late last night?” my father asked me as he was turning away from the TV, which was broadcasting something about politics that I didn’t completely understand. My father was a good-looking gentleman. His bulky muscles gave off the fact that he went on a trip to the gym every day. But he was also the type of father who asks about everything you do but never really worries about it. It was easy to ignore him, though, and he never seemed to mind.

So I ignored him and turned to my mother, who was taking the food out from the kitchen. She had a round face similar to my own. But that was all I inherited from her. Unlike me, she had silky golden hair and bright blue eyes. In addition, our personalities were complete opposites.

Being a very friendly and sociable person, my mother could never resist the urge to bring anyone she meets home, sometimes along with a child around my age, with whom my mother always had encouraged me to make friends. I, however, was already satisfied with the friends I had. Even with her annoying parts, though, she was always helpful to me, so much so that I had probably become too reliant on her.

“You know, you could have come to my room to wake me up, mom,” I told my mother.

“Let’s not worry about the past now. What’s important is that we can finally start eating now that you have come.”

That got my father’s interest. Leaving the television on, he walked over to the table to get his food. His expression changed when he saw the food prepared. “Why are we having sausages again? I’ve told you over and over that processed meat is bad for your health.”

His question was brutally ignored by the both of us. I sat down in my chair, but that made me notice the clock on the wall in front of me. I only had fifteen minutes until class started. It should take about twenty minutes to walk to my high school. I stood up suddenly, startling my parents, and told them that I was going to be late.

I quickly took a loaf of bread from the counter and stuffed it with an egg and a sausage. Then I ran into my room and grabbed my backpack. When I left the house on my skateboard, I could barely hear my father calling for me to put on a helmet.

Outside, the sunny and cloudless sky concealed the chilling breeze as I rushed past the houses. It wasn’t snowing—it never snows here—but it was still cold since it was early in the morning. I already couldn’t feel my hands, so I reminded myself to remember to put on gloves next time I go out.

Although it’s only been 5 months since high school started, I already knew everybody in my grade. After all, half of them went to the same middle school as me. So, one block away from home, it was surprising to see a new face zoom past me.

She was a girl who looked around my age, but possibly a little younger. Middle school classes start an hour after high school, so there was no doubt that she was going to my school.

I thought about stopping to introduce myself to her, but I immediately dismissed that thought. I wasn’t the outgoing type of person, and I didn’t want to be late for school. Even so, we would eventually be introduced to each other sooner or later by my mother. But again, that thought was dismissed as well when I heard the voice of the girl calling behind me.

“Hey! Wait! Skateboard person! Wait!”

I stopped and stood there contemplating whether or not I should help her. I turned around and saw her running towards me.

A sigh escaped my mouth. Now that I had already stopped, I guess I had to wait for her. It’d be awkward, not to mention straight out rude, not to.

When the girl reached me, she held out her hand. “Hi, My name is Angel,” she said in a formal tone, still breathing heavily.

My heart skipped a beat. I knew an introduction was coming, but I didn’t expect her to be this straightforward. Now that she was standing right in front of me, I could see her features a lot more clearly.

She was shorter than I had expected, with the top of her head reaching my chin, and I was already considered short for my age. She had a smooth, round face, with features resembling a toddler such as large blue eyes and a slight hint of a smile on her soft lips. Her light blond hair rolled down her shoulders, reminding me of my mother.

She had on pair of light pink mittens and a matching pair of fluffy pink earmuffs. But those didn’t stop me from wondering if she was cold in her thin, light blue cotton jacket and skinny jeans.

Simply put, this “Angel” was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I blinked. Was her name really “Angel,” or had I mistaken the name “Angela” for that?

“It’s Angel, not Angela. It gets mistaken a lot,” she said.

I snapped my head out of the clouds. She must have seen the bewildered look on my face when I was gazing at her. I turned my head to the side nervously.

“Um… I’m Damien,” I replied softly. I tried to wipe the sweat building up on my hands on my pants, even though she had mittens on, and shook her hand.

Angel was still looking at me. She seemed to be expecting me to say more, so I added, “Yeah, so um… you’re going to be a little late to school if you don’t hurry up.”

Time didn’t seem to matter a bit to her. After what I said, she didn’t even raise her wrist to look at her watch. “That is not that much of a problem to me right now. More importantly, I forgot the way to school.”

She looked up at me, waiting with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“I can travel there myself. You can simply give me the directions and be on your way. I have a good memory,” she said.

I thought about my decision for a second. “Well, I’m… okay being late,” I told her, then picked up my skateboard, “Follow me. I’ll show you the way.” It wouldn’t be good to let a girl get lost in a big place like this.

Angel stood there for a moment, looking surprised. When she finally processed the words I had said, a smile appeared on her lips, but a tear rolled down her cheeks when she blinked. She swiftly turned away from me and wiped her eyes.

“Hey, don’t cry! This isn’t something you need to get emotional over,” I frantically told her. I looked around, hoping people passing by wouldn’t get the wrong idea. After seeing nobody else was around, I turned back to Angel, and I asked myself if she really wasn’t ten years old.

“Sorry…” she replied, turning back around and regaining her formal posture, “I’m not sure why that happened to me again… Just ignore it. And thank you for the help.”

I looked at my watch—5 more minutes. There really was no point in knowing the time anymore, but my heart rate still quickened when I saw it. “We need to hurry up and run. You don’t want to miss too much of your first class here.”

When I turned around, Angel quickly stopped me. “Damien, can you please hold my hand?” This girl was really throwing surprises at me one by one. I didn’t waste time deciding on my answer, so I let her grab my hand.

Just as we took off, I felt the tiniest of sensations in the back of my head, as if I was pulled back. A car passed by, and I couldn’t help but think that something was off about it. However, before I could figure out why, it zoomed past and quickly got smaller, smaller, and smaller behind us.