It started like every other morning in the life of Ellie Bennett—chaotic, messy, and just a little too loud for a girl who dreamed of grace and poise.
She darted down the stairs of her modest, overstuffed home, one hand clutching a barely-buttered slice of toast, the other fumbling with her half-zipped schoolbag. "Dad, have you seen my—oh, never mind!" she called, snatching her missing maths book off the dining table just as her father stepped out of the kitchen with his usual warm smile.
"You'll miss the bus again, El," he chuckled, sipping tea from a mug that read World's Okayest Dad.
"I'm not late! I'm fashionably... behind!" she huffed, slipping into her scruffy trainers and charging out the door like a whirlwind of nerves and hope.
Outside, the morning air was brisk—blue skies, crisp wind, and the distant hum of city life. A beautiful day by all accounts. But Ellie wasn't convinced. Something about this morning felt different, like the universe was smirking at her behind the clouds.
And sure enough, it didn't take long for things to unravel.
She arrived at St. Alden's High School exactly three seconds before the bell rang, breathless, hair frizzed by wind, and blazer buttoned unevenly. Her two best friends—Maddy Clarke and Jasmine Kent—were already waiting near the front steps, both mid-laugh as Ellie nearly tripped over a loose shoelace.
"You look like you lost a fight with your wardrobe," Maddy teased, brushing an invisible speck off Ellie's shoulder.
"I did. It was brutal," Ellie panted. "But I survived."
"Barely," Jasmine added, linking arms with her as they headed toward class. "You know who's on hall monitor duty today?"
Ellie's heart skipped, then tripped, then face-planted. "Don't say it."
"Aiden Blake."
The name hit her like a brick wrapped in glitter. Aiden Blake—top of the class, captain of everything, and the boy who looked like he stepped straight out of a teen drama. Tall, sharp-jawed, painfully smart, and utterly untouchable. He wasn't just intelligent—he was the kind of brilliant that made people feel like they were shrinking under a microscope.
And Ellie? She was at the bottom rung of the academic ladder. The kind of girl who scraped by with extra credit, guessed her way through exams, and once forgot her own locker combination... twice.
"He probably doesn't even know I exist," she mumbled.
"Oh, he knows," Maddy smirked. "You did trip in front of him last week. Full spaghetti fall."
"I blanked that from my memory for a reason," Ellie groaned, cheeks burning at the reminder.
Inside the classroom, Aiden sat at his usual spot by the window, sunlight catching the edges of his sleek black hair. He barely acknowledged anyone around him, eyes scanning the morning paper as if GCSEs and teenage drama were beneath him.
Ellie watched him for a moment too long, before Maddy jabbed her in the side.
"Snap out of it. You're drooling."
"I am not," Ellie whispered, wiping her mouth just in case.
But she was. At least in spirit.
And so began another day in the life of Ellie Bennett—clumsy, hopelessly in love, and completely out of her depth.