I gently pull myself out of Chloe’s grip, confused. “Why’d you do that?” I ask. We had been walking down the corridor when she randomly started kissing me. I didn’t approve of PDA, and she knew that.

“I only wanted to show you how much I loved you, Adrikins!” She exclaims, throwing her arms around me. I open my mouth to protest, only to reconsider. She had been my only friend for the past few years, and with the relations between our families it just made sense that we would eventually become a couple. It was expected. I sigh, giving her a small smile.

“Thank you, Chloe. But I would appreciate it if you were more discreet in the future.” I say, returning her hug before pulling away. “C’mon, it’s almost time for our classes to start.”

As we both begin walking down the long hallway, I hear Sabrina struggling behind us. Chloe had insisted on having her carry all of our bags and books. I felt terrible about it in the beginning of our relationship, but whenever I tried to protest, Sabrina would either say she didn’t mind, or Chloe would berate me about being too nice. After a few months of it happening in the beginning of our relationship, I eventually gave up. It was clear that Chloe would always get her way, so what was the point of making a fuss?

When we arrive at our classroom, I can’t help but notice that our classmates are roughly the same as they have been for the past few years. I always wonder why our class has stayed the same when everyone else in our school seems to rotate. When I turn to Chloe to ask precisely that question, I notice her glaring daggers at Marinette. The poor girl looks very uncomfortable, so I quickly decide to step in. “Chloe, where do you want to sit?” I ask, trying to interrupt the one-sided staring contest. She scoffs, turning to look at me.

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“Where do you think? The same place we’ve always sat, duh.” She says, haughtily walking over to the table at the front of the room. I sigh and follow her, relieved that the question worked as a distraction. I can’t help but notice that instead of sitting behind me like she had for the past several years, Marinette was sitting at the table across from us. I wonder what’s changed.

Soon enough the bell rings for class to start, and our teacher starts calling attendance. Oddly enough, Ivan isn’t here. He’s not the best student in the world, but even I know that he wouldn’t miss the first day of school. I want to ask Chloe if she knows anything about it, but I doubt that she would care enough to answer. I assume he’s just had something come up. Maybe a family emergency, or something. Whatever. I shake my head, refocusing on the teacher. She’s going over something specific about the rules of the class, detailing on the projector what we should bring in the next day. It’s all very boring.

I nudge my girlfriend, causing her to glare at me. “What?” She whispers, annoyed.

“I just wanted to remind you to bring your textbook this year. I don’t mind sharing mine with you, but it’s not a good habit to continually forget your own. If I missed a day, you would be totally lost.” I say. She scowls at me, rolling her eyes and turning back to the teacher.

“Thanks, mom.” She growls, effectively ending that conversation. I settle in to listen to the teacher drone on, hoping that she actually starts bringing it this year. Oh well. Time will tell, I suppose.