The last box landed with a thud on the hardwood floor of my new bedroom. Dust particles danced in the afternoon sunlight streaming through half-opened blinds. I stood there, surveying the space that would be mine for the next year—senior year. My fingers traced the edge of a cardboard box labeled "MEMORIES" in thick black marker.
My mother's voice called from downstairs. "Alex! Come help with the groceries!"
"Coming!" I shouted back, but lingered a moment longer.
I walked to the window and gazed at the sprawling campus of Westbrook High School visible in the distance. The red brick buildings and manicured lawns looked like something from a college brochure. Nothing like my old school.
A fresh start. That's what my parents had promised when they announced the move across state lines. A chance to reinvent myself. No one here would know about my past—my awkward phase, my social struggles, the rumors. Here, I could be anyone I wanted to be.
I pulled out my journal from my backpack and flipped it open to a blank page. The leather cover was worn, the edges of pages discolored from frequent handling. I uncapped my pen and began to write:
*August 28th*
*Tomorrow, I become someone new. Someone better. Someone they'll never forget.*
*I've spent too long being invisible. But not anymore. Westbrook won't know what hit it.*
*This is going to be fun.*
I closed the journal with a smile and tucked it under my mattress. My collection of newspaper clippings would have to wait until later to be properly organized and stored away.
"Alex!" My mother's voice carried more urgency this time.
"On my way!" I called back, taking one last look at my room.
As I headed downstairs, I felt a familiar tingle of excitement—the kind I'd felt three times before. New town. New school. New me. But underneath it all, the same thrill of possibility.
Westbrook High had no idea what was coming. And by the time they figured it out, it would be far too late.