[Alex's POV]

On the first day of school, I find myself standing in the middle of a whirling and swirling sea of people. I mean... I already knew that this town is chockfull of people, but this is bordering on the absurd!

I'd arrived about half an hour ago, and at that time, it was still calm. I'd even found a bench in the sun to sit on. So I'd closed my eyes and basked in its warmth. I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I startled awake when I felt a soft leg press to the side of my leg. I'm a little ashamed to admit that my first thought was that Hanna was touching me again, because when I opened my eyes to see what was going on, I found myself surrounded by a lot of unfamiliar boys and girls. Apparently, in the twenty minutes in which I hadn't been paying attention, the courtyard had gotten really crowded. There were so many people sitting next to me, that it was a miracle that they hadn't touched me earlier. The person sitting next to me, the one who had touched my leg, didn't even resemble Hanna. It was a girl with gray eyes and freckles covering her nose, she instantly turned bright red and started spluttering an apology. While she was apologising, I noticed a boy at the edge of the bench, snickering in his fist. He was probably the one that had pushed her against me, so I smiled at the girl and said: "No problem. If anything, I'm sorry for not noticing sooner that I am in the way. Bye."

For some reason, the girl started to blush even worse, all the way to her shoulders, and the guy at the other side of the bench seemed to be blushing too. Strange, but it didn't matter. I wasn't part of that company, so I got up and walked away.

An action I regret badly now that I am standing here in this swirling sea of people. People constantly bump into me as they try to make their way through the crowd. At first I'd apologised every time, but I'd gotten tired of all the "what's up with this guy"-glances I got in return. I wish the bell would ring already so we could all go the class. At least we'd all have a seat and some room to breath. With the number of students already standing in the courtyard, I had hoped that all of the students would have arrived already, but I see that a lot of students are still streaming in.

As if the situation hadn't been bad enough already, I see Hanna enter the courtyard. I watch her as her eyes scan the crowd. She won't spot me in such a crowded place, right? Wrong again. My blood runs cold when her eyes meet mine and a shiver runs down my spine when she smiles at me mischievously. I had feared the possibility, but to have my suspicion confirmed is terrible news! Hanna attends this school too. In the past two weeks before school, it had become increasingly difficult to avoid her. Not only at the park, but at the shopping district too. Luckily, she hadn't touched me anymore, but she'd been very pushy; constantly inviting me to places I'd never been before and buying me gifts. Or worse, nagging me to buy her a gift.

I had to get away before she managed to make herself a way through the crowd towards me.

I'd hardly managed to kick myself into gear, when an arm appeared in front of my chest to stop me. I follow the arm to a face and find a slightly familiar looking boy, a little taller than me, with dark brown eyes and light brown hair made up to stand messily on end.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Alex! My man! How've you been?" he says with a genuine smile on his face. The familiarity in his tone catches me completely off guard and combined with the terror I'm feeling because Hanna will be biting at my heels even at school, I accidentally give him a very dirty look. I can tell that it is a dirty look because he instantly takes a step back and raises his hand in surrender.

"Wowa! You do NOT remember me at all," he says. He looks startled by my reaction. "It's me, Jasper! From the park… you were sitting in a tree? I thought you were a tree nymph?"

Tree nymph? Ah, yes. That's why he seemed familiar. I hadn't recognised him because he's all cleaned up and in a school uniform.

"Ah, yes. Jasper, you say? Sorry about that. I moved here at the start of summer from a remote, quiet town. And let me tell you that keeping all the faces apart has been quite the challenge," I say, as I nervously look over my shoulder in the direction of Hanna. She's looking at me with a neutral face. As if she doesn't like that I'm talking to someone, but doesn't want to show it on her face. It's a relief to see that she's keeping her distance.

"Caught Hanna's eye, have you?" Jasper chuckles next to me. "I have to say, I'm impressed that you haven't thrown yourself at her feet yet. Hanna packs a mean punch when she sets her eyes on someone."

"Huh?" I find myself uttering in surprise as I turn my attention back to Jasper.

"Ah! You only recently moved here, so you wouldn't know, but Hanna has quite the reputation. I think she's dated at least half of the guys at school," Jasper explains calmly.

"Half?! Does that include you?"

"No, not me. I rubbed her in the wrong way some time ago and she won't even look at me without frowning."

Well, that explains why Hanna isn't glued to my side right now. I glance over my shoulder towards her, and notice that she's given up completely.

"My savior," I sigh in relief and Jasper chuckle.

"My pleasure. Although it surprises me that if you're this repulsed by her, that she hasn't given up on you yet. Have you tried to tell her to stop bothering you?"

I think about it for a second. I think that I have been rather clear in my dislike for her. But no, I don't think I've said the actual words out loud.

"Hmm, perhaps you're right. I'll try that the next time she bothers me."

Jasper nods but doesn't continue the subject.

"So… you moved, huh? Is this your first day at a new school?" He asks instead.

"Yeah, … I actually don't know anyone here. I'll be glad to be introduced to my classmates. You know, to actually find some familiar faces in the crowd?"

"Well, you know me. You're always welcome to hang around with me and my friends. "

"Your friends, huh? Are you talking about those girls?"

"Jessy and Otto, yes, I sure am. We'd actually hoped to run into you again at the park, but it never happened."

"Really?" I mumble, wondering why I hadn't bumped into them. It wasn't like I hadn't been at the park anymore, but I hadn't seen them either.

"Would you like to go to them?" Jasper asks.

"Yeah, sure! Why not?"

He grins and off we go.