When my alarm goes off at 6:30AM the following Thursday, I am filled to the brim with both elation and dread. Getting out of bed is like trying not to trigger a bomb as I navigate my way through my sunshine-filled room. Every footstep is delicate, every motion is calculated, like anything too sudden or too loud will cause the entire day to spoil and blow up in my face.

And with my plan officially starting today, I can't afford to let that happen. Today marks the birth of a brand new Willa, one who will be who she has always wanted to be: bold, intriguing, outgoing.

Hopefully, I don't blow it.

By the time I've gotten ready for the day, I feel like I can't tear my eyes off my reflection. That sounds vain, I know, but I just feel so...meticulous. About everything, every detail. I added some volume to my typically straight brown hair, courtesy of my curling iron, and it only took me about three accidental burn incidences while jamming to 5 Seconds of Summer to give it a beachy, wavy sort of look. My makeup's to a point where I look put-together and fancy without it turning into stage makeup. My beige knit sweater is tucked into my skinny jeans, belt looped through, lucky star-shaped necklace secured around my neck.

My phone vibrates with a text from Val. She and Ben are nearly here.

I look back up at my reflection, nodding to myself once and shaking out my arms.

"You can do this, Willa," I say to myself. I sound like I'm talking myself into a boxing match rather than my last first day of school. "You've got everything under control."

And with that, I march out of my bedroom, hoping the veneer of confidence starts to coalesce into something real. I hurry downstairs and into the kitchen, where my mom greets me with a flash of her cell phone camera. Like a vampire avoiding the light, I wince, my hand flying up.

"Mom, really?" I ask, blinking the flash away.

"Happy first day of school!" Mom beams, beholding the picture. She tucks her phone away and rushes to give me a hug. "Oh, I remember when you were just starting kindergarten--"

"--Mom--"

"--you would ask the bus driver if they could drive you to school every day for a week--"

"--Mom."

My mom blinks, as if coming out of her memories. She smiles at me and then steps aside, revealing the traditional first day of school breakfast she's made on the table. "Eat something, you'll need the energy."

I roll my eyes good-naturedly as I sink into a seat around the table. While I eat, I poke around social media as if I'm reading the day's paper, liking photos, liking Tweets, until the food is gone from my plate and Val and Ben are outside.

"Bye, Mom!" I say as I swing my backpack over my shoulder and slip into my heeled boots--another purchase from my field trip to the mall with Val. As if the sudden height increase gives me another burst of confidence, I head out the door with some pep in my step to the Honda on the curb.

When I hop into my designated seat, Val is quick to greet me with, "Hey, Fashion Week, how's it going?"

I roll my eyes, but can't fight the smile tugging at my lips. I wave to my mom, waiting at the front door, as Ben begins to head down the street. "Shut it, Val."

"No, I'm serious!" Val twists around in the passenger seat to face me. "You're working that outfit!"

"Isn't that the goal?" I ask.

"Yes!" Val beams, high-fiving me.

I laugh as we exit my neighborhood. School's only about a mile or so from my neighborhood, so the drive would be short, if it weren't for the hundreds of cars on the main roads headed in the same direction. Despite it being a nuisance for Ben, it's strangely calming to me. This is familiar, this is routine, which means everything about today will be normal. There will be no surprises underneath this perfect August azure sky.

As we come to a stop at the intersection, Ben meets my eyes in the rearview mirror. "It's a good outfit, Willa, but won't you be hot?"

I feel like I've run into a stop sign. I look down at myself and resist a groan. A sweater and jeans in the middle of the hottest month in Illinois. I've done it now.

"She'll be fine," Val says, catching my hesitation. I shoot her a sympathetic look. "Let's just hope they've turned the air conditioning on."

"Ugh," Ben groans as the light turns green. We can see the stadium lights in the distance, underneath which will be the student parking lots, filling up by the second. "That reminds me of one time..."

Ben finishes his thrilling story as we roll up to West High, locked in the stream of cars heading into the senior parking lot. We make it to Ben's parking spot (sandwiched between mine and Val's, should we ever have to drive separately) and we step outside into the sun.

Val slings an arm around my shoulders as Ben locks the car and swings to the trunk to grab his stuff. "You ready, Will?"

I glance down at Val. "Don't I have to be?"

Val pats my shoulder. "That's the spirit!"

We laugh as Ben shuts the trunk of the Honda and together, we fall into step towards the front doors of the school.

"All right, so," Val claps her hands and begins rubbing them together as if she's some kind of evil mastermind, "what's one thing you both are excited about for this year?"

She makes a fist and juts it towards Ben, who rolls his eyes as he leans into the makeshift microphone. "I've heard the marching band's halftime show this year is pretty cool. Oh, also, writing new stories for the Lion."

Ben's one of the head writers for West High's student-run newspaper, the Lion's Gazette, known to West High in short as the Lion. Just about every other day, Ben can be found in the Lion's designated computer lab finishing up a story or teaching new team members how to use the formatting page. Makes sense that half of his focus would be on the Lion.

Val moves the 'microphone' over to me. "Willa Murdock, your input?"

I think as we step onto the sidewalk surrounding the circle drive, my eyes locked on the parents dropping off their kids. "Homecoming should be fun, I guess."

Val makes a buzzer sound, moving the microphone back to her. "You're always excited about school dances, try again."

I throw my hands up with a laugh. "How about you, Val?"

Val lowers her fist, beaming. "I thought you'd never ask." She clears her throat. "I, my dear friends, am excited to finally help Willa out of her shell and take down Levi Graham in the process."

Ben holds up a finger as we reach the front of the school, where students are heading through the doors in droves. Again, a familiar sight. "We're technically not taking him down."

Val waves a hand at Ben in dismissal, and he shakes his head. Just as we reach the front doors, I open my mouth to speak but the roar of a motorcycle pulling up to the circle drive just feet away from us makes my words die in my throat.

"Is that the guy?" Ben asks as the motorcycle's engine putters to a stop. "The new football captain?"

"Holy shit..." Val mutters, eyes wide as the rider--donning a green bomber jacket, black t-shirt, and jeans--gets off his bike.

We watch with the rest of West High as the rider's helmet comes off and my stomach takes a nose-dive as the cute guy from the mall begins walking towards us, bag slung over his shoulder.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod--

He sees me.

Shit.

He smiles, but not in the way he had when we first met, or even the second time we met. This is more of a smirk, playing to the tons of girls watching him as he walks. He could be an actor, a musician, a model, anyone. He does not belong on these familiar pavements.

"He's coming over here," Val hisses into my ear, and I know, I know.

But I am frozen, watching in equal parts horror and bewilderment as the guy meets my eyes again long enough for recognition to pass from his to mine, and then disappears through the front doors without so much as a word.