New Beginning
Everyone needs one, and mine started in the quiet town of Auroravilha.
When I turned 15, my family and I moved to Auroravilha because of my dad's job. His name is Rick McGrey — yeah, my grandparents weren't exactly creative with names. My mom's name is Olivia McGrey. I have an older brother, Rick (guess who he was named after?), I'm Noah McGrey — yeah, I know, not the most original name either, but I kinda like it — and the twins, Theo and Thalia.
When we arrived, I saw the house we were going to live in: a four-bedroom place — one for my parents, one for each kid, except the twins, who would share. Our neighbors seemed like good people, but one house always gave me the creeps. It was right across the street, owned by an old man named Mr. Flink. Every time he looked at me, I felt like I was being analyzed.
That was pretty much it. The day after we moved in, the neighbors threw a party to welcome us and help us fit in. But to me, it felt more like a way to check if we were "their kind of people."
During dinner, the twins were playing with their food, my older brother was hiding his phone under the table, and my parents kept praising how "kind and welcoming" the neighbors were. I met some of their kids, but nothing too interesting. Still, I couldn't stop thinking about Mr. Flink.
Every time I looked at him, he seemed to pretend he was listening to the adults, but he kept glancing at the kids — like he was analyzing something very specific.
I decided that, at some point, I'd try to find out more about him.
In the middle of all those thoughts, it was already time to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. I also went to "drain the dragon" — if you know what I mean.
When I came back, I noticed something: my window was slightly open. I didn't remember leaving it like that. I went to close it. It faced the street, which, at that hour, was empty and dark, lit only by a few lampposts. And, as if the scene wasn't creepy enough, one of the lamps kept flickering.
Not that I'm a scaredy-cat, but that night, I could only fall back asleep after covering the window with a cloth.
The next morning, at 7 a.m., I headed to my new school: Auroravilha Madeline Fronteira School. How can I describe it? Well… in one word: challenge. But to be more accurate: jungle.
It's a boarding school where kids "beyond saving" get dumped by their parents, still hoping they'll somehow "turn into decent people."
Why am I here? Long story short: I drew an inappropriate picture of the principal at my old school, and it ended up spreading around the whole place. Result: expulsion. Since my family was already moving, it turned out to be "perfect."
Back to the new school:
Here's how it works — from 9th grade up to senior year. Age-wise, I'm among the youngest. Luckily, this school has two classes per grade. For example, 9th grade has class "A" and class "B." Those in class "A" don't suffer as much as the ones in "B."
Why?
Because this school has rankings. The "A" students are considered the "future of the nation." The ones in "B"... the nation's embarrassment.
That said, I'm in 9th grade, class "A." The classroom is big, divided into four rows with 40 desks. Seats are assigned by teachers, and we're stuck with them until the end of the year.
At the start of the second period, I looked out the window and noticed the sky starting to darken. That's when the teacher called me out. When I turned back, I saw a girl.
She was as pale as a snowflake, with long black hair and bangs covering her eyes.
That was when I met Mirai Sunflower, also known as "Dead Sunflower."