"(Y/N)! Hurry up! We can't miss our train!" Mom shouts from across the hall.

"Coming Mom!" You shout back.

As you walk down the hall, your mom starts bragging, "My daughter! High school graduate at the age of twelve! Going to a college at thirteen!" She gushes, "Aw I'm just so proud of you!" She exclaims with glee.

"I can't believe i got into my dream school and I'm the youngest girl to be accepted!" You're giddy and filled to the brim with joy, "I've had their posters on my walls since i knew i wanted to be a coder."

You squeal with delight. When your mom first handed you the acceptance letter and full scholarship, excited was an understatement.

• • •

"(Y/N). Wake up." Your mom coos, sweetly.

"Huh?" You question, still in your slumber stupor, "Where are we?"

"Welcome to Sanfransokyo, (y/n)." Mother grins.

You squeal with excitement. "Where are we staying for tonight?" You ask while reaching for your bags. Most of your stuff had already been sent to where your mother arranged for you to stay, so you only have a backpack and a small carry on suitcase.

"A motel room." She mutters. You and your mom never had much. She was a hair stylist, but worked from home. She was a single mom too. Your dad had the job, but he took your sister, the money, and left. He would write letters on a occasions, but when you got accepted into SFIT you knew you had to take accept and not tell him. He irked you, every single piece of him. "I've arranged for you to stay with my old friend Cass, both of her kids are also enrolled at SFIT. I'll join you later when school starts back up in the winter. I've got to finish up stuff back home, okay?" She adds, reaching for her stuff as well.

"Okay." You reply, unsure. You never liked being without your mom. Every time you were apart for a few days, something bad would happen. Last time you two were apart for a weekend, your father left. "I'll miss you."

"I will, too." She smiles, leading you off the train and in the direction of the motel. She stops and pulls you into an embrace, she places her head lightly on top of yours and sighs, pecking your forehead with her lips and releasing the embrace. "Well, time to go check in at the motel!" She announces.

• • •

"Mom!" You shout, "Do you have my white shoes with the black lacing?"

"No, you sent them off to Cass' place, remember?" She replies.

"Aw man! Those are my favourite." You groan. "God, mom can you just help me please. I want to look nice for the acceptance ceremony."

You stare around your suitcase, unhopeful. Your mother peers over your shoulder and asks, "What about your (F/C) shirt with the peter pan collar tucked into your white pleated skirt?"

You turn around and spot your mom wearing her old blue dress that stopped mid-calf and her black heels. She had straightened her hair and parted her bangs to the side. "It sounds cute and sweet." You smile.

You quickly change and then stand in the mirror by your mom, straightening out your skirt. "My beautiful thirteen year old girl is growing up." Your mom smiled, nostalgically.

Your mom insisted you put on makeup. You decided to humour her and let her out some on you. She gently patted some blush on your cheeks and some natural coloured lip gloss. You already have long lashes, but a little mascara made your eyes look brighter. Your mother takes an eyebrow brush through your thick eyebrows, setting them into place. With both of you ready, you took off for SFIT.

You walked to SFIT. It was a good call, on account of it being so close, and it was so beautiful outside. So quiet. Back home in Bloomside everything was cluttered and crowded. Everyone was so rude. Here, you haven't bumped into anyone.

When you got to SFIT, you were awestruck. The whole school was bigger than you had ever imagined. Mom had to drag you at this point. You looked around and everyone was so... tall. You knew you'd be the only thirteen year old.However, you will admit, you had some hope that there'd be some freaky science whiz kid. You walked around and talked to the people there. Professor Callaghan was there too and you managed to speak a couple sentences to him before being interrupted. He had told you that everyone had a lab already assigned, this made you curious to find yours.

You saw a Melanie Atwater, Cassidy Lee, Tadashi Hamada, and here you are, (Y/N) (L/N)! You carefully opened the polished glass door and walked slowly inside. The view is amazing, spotting a line of cherry blossom trees and a bird bath. You suddenly find yourself mentally organising your stuff, but you're interrupted by the sound of an opening door. You ignored it, thinking it was just another student finding their room.

"Hi! I'm Tadashi Hamada." You heard. Startled, you shrieked and whipped yourself around. The stranger looked at you weirdly. "My study appears to be right next to yours. I thought I should introduce myself now" he says, cautiously. "Sorry to startle you." He laughs.

"Oh my gosh. Hello Tadashi Hamada! I'm (Y/N). (Y/N) (L/N). Sorry! I'm... jumpy."

"I can tell," Tadashi responds, smiling. "How old are you?"

"Thirteen, why? is it painfully obvious?"

"Not really, you're just, short. You should meet my brother Hiro, he's fourteen. Maybe convince him to enroll. I think you'd get along rather well."

"Hmm," You hum, "If i see him, I'll give him a glowing recommendation."

"Well, he's here somewhere? I swear he was right behind me when i opened the door." He pauses, thinking for a second, "Your door tag says you're a coder, maybe you can help me with something I'm trying to code." He adds, ecstatically. His phone dings and he pulls it out and frowns. "I have to go back and find my aunt."

You don't say anything, just nod and wave goodbye. He was nice, maybe he could be like a mentor. You pull your first bot out of your backpack, and hold it out, proudly. You find yourself remembering when you first successfully coded the bot.

"Mommy look!" You dragged your mom into your room, sitting her on your bed. You held up the bot you made from spare parts you had found around town and the house. You gently placed the bot on the floor and the walked over to the old computer on your desk. Happily, you smile looking at your mother, making sure she's looking at the bot, and then press the spacebar. The bot  rises and begins to walk around in circles. Your mother looks at you, the bot, then back to you.

"(y/n)! oh my gosh!" When the bot is done and sits back down, she runs over to you and picks you up, twirling around with you in her arms.

Suddenly, your phone dings, pulling you out of your daydream.

Mom: Sweetie, I'm tired. I'm gonna head back to the motel. Love you.

You put your phone in your purse and start towards the door. Slowly closing the glass door, then you made your way to the stairs. As you walk, you notice a boy. He looked about your age, with messy hair, a red t-shirt, and khaki shorts. The boy was running and wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. Then he slammed into you, knocking you into the ground. His eyes find yours.

"Oh god." I whispered.

"Oh, I'm-" He stands up, offering you his hand. You stay on the floor, sitting on your legs.

"Sorry? 'Cause you should've been watching where you were going!" You retorted, your hands brushing off your skirt.

"Yeah, um... I'm sorry. Hey, your bot!"

You look down at the bot, now on the floor, only to find it's legs smashed. "That was my first bot. I made it when I was eleven. Look at what you did! You'll pay for this!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" He announces, raising his hands up in defeat.

"Sorry can't fix this. Sorry doesn't fix my broken bot!" You shout.

He extended his hand out and you take it, but you pull him down on the floor. He tumbles down, pulling you down with him. You fell all the way down the stairs. You both share a nonstop fit of laughter. By the time you've landed on the second floor, the boy is on top of you. Your faces close and your heart beating like crazy. You feel a magnetic pull to him, the strangest feeling, a feeling you didn't know was possible. He opens his mouth to say something, but you took away his speech by pressing your lips gently to the tip of his nose. His cheeks shift to a bright red, you feel the heat of his cheeks radiate off him. You see how embarrassed you've made him and feel a feeling of satisfaction.

"Now we're even." You whisper in his ear, then you slide out from under him. Disappearing.

Your lips still heated from kissing him. Your hand still burning from holding his. As you walked quickly to the motel, your mind was racing faster than you thought possible. You couldn't stop thinking about him.

You think to yourself, Do I like him? No... No! Of course not!