In school, she is the brightest, most cheerful girl you'll ever meet. The one who was lucky enough to be one of the boys. But Ari has held secrets her entire life; the darkness of her home life, and the fact that she has been in love with her best friend David for years. Those were hidden within her heart, locked even from her closest friends...until she lost a diary. One by one, her treasured secrets started spilling out, and her other best friend Sebastian, the one who was being forced to marry her, seems to be in on it.
Diary # 6, The First Entry
(September 3, 2013)
I pause and stare at the mess in my bedroom. Man, is it so hard to unpack. My suitcases are on the bed, clothes bursting out of them. My books, which I unearthed from their boxes a while ago, are scattered on the floor along with my school things. I start piling them on top of each other, counting them as I do. A hundred and three books in different sizes, all pertaining to English literature. I wonder if I would be able to use them here at Hector Park High School, where I would be a Freshman this year. Most of its students are Korean or half-Korean like me so I highly doubt they take English Lit that seriously. But that was the least of my worries.
What really twists my stomach is the thought of seeing them again. The boys. My childhood friends.
I just don't know how they'll react. It's been a long time. Though I miss them, I even wish for them to secretly hope they won't recognize me, if only for my sanity. They probably won't.
I stare at my reflection in the mirror. I look so different than I did back then. I've grown a foot taller and my skin is paler now. The red hair that I kept short as a kid is now darker and falls past my shoulders down to my waist. I also feel completely and irrevocably different inside, and more than my appearance, I think it would be the main reason why I would be a stranger to them now.
Sighing, I stop glaring at myself in the mirror and finish stacking my books carefully on the floor, for now, as I'm still waiting on the shelves I ordered online to be delivered. My diaries go into the locked ornate box beside me. I'm currently on my fifth journal, which is also close to being used up, thanks to my incessant writing. Finally, I turn to my clothes, folding them and putting them inside the built-in cabinet facing my bed. Satisfied with my progress in tidying up, my eyes catch the time on my wristwatch. It's almost seven pm. Time to stop worrying and get dinner.
I make my way to the restaurant nearest my dorm and quickly order as I get to the table. As usual, I pore over my journal and start penning my latest entry, determined to recount every bit of my boring life, hoping the act itself can make it more interesting. I think of my therapist, who is a firm advocate of word vomiting on pages of paper. She will be so proud of me.
I have written a full three pages of text before the waitress goes back to me. "Here's your order, Ma'am."
I smile politely at her, nodding my head.
She returns the smile, puts down the steak I ordered on the table, and goes back to work. I slowly start eating, forcing the food down my throat despite it making me want to puke. I guess I still don't have my appetite.
"Quit it, Brad." an annoyed voice says not far beside me.
I tense, the familiarity of it sending a chill down my spine. I turn and stare, realizing how much I missed that voice.
Sebastian.
The sight of him almost makes me want to stand up, call out his name, and hug him. But I hold back, citing the changes in him instead. He's taller now, and although I can only see one side of his face, I can tell how defined his features have become, his cheeks no longer as chubby as I remember them. I always knew he was going to be handsome, just like I did our other friends. Their families...our families were known to have good genes, all children of actors and businessmen whose looks became the foundation of their success. The boys clearly inherited them. The people around me told me I got my mother's beauty, too, but I don't see really see it. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the odd one out.
Taking my eyes off Sebastian, who hadn't noticed my ogling (thank God), I study the person in front of him.
Brandon, or Brad, as we call him.
I want to run to him, too, and tuck him under my arm. But of course, he is now much taller than me, and I don't think that would be appropriate now that we're grown. Brad was the clown of the group, the one who always told the most annoying yet adorable jokes, and judging by the way he grins at Seb's scolding, I can immediately tell that hadn't changed. I also notice his heavily lined eyes, which made me cringe. What in the hell made him think that was a good idea? Has he gone completely mad since I left?
"Then quit thinking about her." Brad is saying. They still haven't noticed me.
"I am not." Seb sounds defensive. I almost smile, remembering the first time we all started having love lives. It became the bulk of our conversations really quickly, and I'm guessing not much has changed since then.
"Sure you are, and it is not cool, Seb. This is the stage where you look for another girl. Jesus, it's been three weeks already." Brad replies, "Have a bit of fun."
"A normal person with a heart doesn't move on that quickly, Brandon. Sometimes, it even takes a year. We were together for three years. How do you expect me to react?" Seb says, scrunching his forehead.
Brad thinks about this for a minute. "Well, yeah, man. But you need to thrive, bro, or you'll drown. I'm just concerned about you, you know. If you keep thinking about her, you'll miss out on a lot of things. Just look at that girl on the table beside us."
I choke on my drink rather ungracefully at what Brad said. Drat it. So they noticed me. Quickly, I hide behind my hair, grateful for its volume. I feel their eyes on me and my cheeks heat. I try to keep my grip on my fork and continue to eat, thanking the gods that they hadn't recognized me. I don't think I'm ready for that yet, and the boys would have a heart attack once they take a good look at me. I absolutely can't let them see right now, the way I am.
And especially not him. David. Thank God he isn't here with them. I don't know if I could keep the tiniest bit of calm if he's here with them right now.
It seems like a million years, but I finally feel their eyes leave me. I let out the breath that I've been holding as I hear Brad yelp, presumably from Seb whacking him in the head for making a stranger uncomfortable. After that, they do not mention me anymore in their conversation, and I honestly do not know if I should feel relieved or disappointed. Nevertheless, I keep my eyes down.
Moments later, I hear Brad excuse himself from the table, and with my heart in my throat, I dare to surreptitiously glance in their direction again.
What the hell?
Seb's eyes. When did he start looking at me again? Why haven't I noticed it?
His head is inclined and his eyebrows are met in the middle as if he's trying to piece together a puzzle in front of him. My panic goes up a notch as we stare at each other, unmoving. Before he recognizes me, I gather m senses and hastily put down my spoon and fork, clattering them on the plate ungracefully. I leave some cash on the table and scramble out of the restaurant as if it has just been set on fire. And the entire time, I sense Seb's eyes on me.
Examining me. Testing me. As if I were a witness on a stand, lying through my teeth.
Typical Seb.
I walk all the way back to my dorm, calming the pounding in my heart as I remember those eyes. I was about to open my door when I notice my empty hands. I stop, almost falling into the pavement. Shoot.
My diary. I left my diary in there.
The perpetually 17-year-old Rose Cristian has resurrected. Again. She has to. Otherwise, the evil witch Joanna would succeed in ending the world. Rose isn't worried, though, she has vanquished the enemy several times before and will do so again. Only this time, Joanna's become more powerful and it might be Rose's first loss in their 500-year-old war. That is unless Rose gains access to an ancient curse that's fatal to the witch. The catch? She has to marry the mysterious and brooding Jericho in order to activate the curse. Despite an obvious physical attraction, Rose just can't seem to like her husband and he seems to feel the same. So it's always sarcasm and fistfights whenever they're together. Add into the mix her newfound warrior team: the morose werewolf Ty and the clumsy wizard Trick. Will Rose succeed in her task this century or will she finally breathe her last?
Dina has always lived a complicated life so she doesn't have many friends. Her Dad is in prison, her Mom is remarried, and she spends most of her time in the streets picking pockets. Dina does this for a good reason though. She needs the money to go home to Botswana, where she can start over again. But David Choi, the infuriating goody-two-shoes in her class, is suddenly making it harder for her to go.
Elin spent twenty years deeply loving her husband, finally marrying him just as she'd always dreamed. But reality shattered her illusions—he wasn't the man she believed. Instead, he callously destroyed her family, crushing her heart beyond repair. At her lowest point, Ruben, equally betrayed that night, approached her steadily. "Marry me, Elin. I'll help you take revenge." Yet, after their wedding, she quickly discovered he was dangerously unpredictable. "I made a mistake. Let's divorce..." Ruben slid his arm possessively around her waist, whispering a chilling promise, "Only in death."
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
Linsey was stood up by her groom to run off with another woman. Furious, she grabbed a random stranger and declared, "Let's get married!" She had acted on impulse, realizing too late that her new husband was the notorious rascal, Collin. The public laughed at her, and even her runaway ex offered to reconcile. But Linsey scoffed at him. "My husband and I are very much in love!" Everyone thought she was delusional. Then Collin was revealed to be the richest man in the world. In front of everyone, he got down on one knee and held up a stunning diamond ring. "I look forward to our forever, honey."
Rumors said that Lucas married an unattractive woman with no background. In the three years they were together, he remained cold and distant to Belinda, who endured in silence. Her love for him forced her to sacrifice her self-worth and her dreams. When Lucas' true love reappeared, Belinda realized that their marriage was a sham from the start, a ploy to save another woman's life. She signed the divorce papers and left. Three years later, Belinda returned as a surgical prodigy and a maestro of the piano. Lost in regret, Lucas chased her in the rain and held her tightly. "You are mine, Belinda."
To the public, she was the CEO's executive secretary. Behind closed doors, she was the wife he never officially acknowledged. Jenessa was elated when she learned that she was pregnant. But that joy was replaced with dread as her husband, Ryan, showered his affections on his first love. With a heavy heart, she chose to set him free and leave. When they met again, Ryan's attention was caught by Jenessa's protruding belly. "Whose child are you carrying?!" he demanded. But she only scoffed. "It's none of your business, my dear ex-husband!"
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."