It was a regular Monday morning.The sun had barely risen, yet Isla already felt the weight of laziness dragging her down. Her mood was low — and she knew it was going to be a long day.
"Isla, come eat!" her mother called from the kitchen.
"I'm coming!"
She got up slowly, fixed her hair in the quickest way possible, and sat at the table.
"Today's your first day of school, right?" her mother asked while serving breakfast.
"Yeah… why?"
"Because you look like someone who isn't planning to go."
Isla sighed, resting her chin on her hand.
"I don't even want to go, to be honest… I'm feeling kinda lazy."
"Lazy? Not a chance! You're going," her mother answered firmly.
"But, Mom…"
"No 'but'! You're going and that's final."
Isla puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms.
"Even if it's the first day…?"
Her mother raised an eyebrow.
"That person is going to be at school, hm?"
Isla's heart skipped a beat.She still didn't want to go — but she suddenly knew she had no choice.
Later, standing at the school entrance, Isla watched groups of students chatting and laughing. She felt a little out of place, but took a deep breath and walked in.
"Mayara! Long time no see!" she called out excitedly.
"Isla? I thought you were going to another school!"
"I was… but I changed my mind." She smiled softly.
The two walked together through the hallways as the bell echoed across the courtyard.
The first day… had only just begun.
Inside the classroom, during Portuguese class with Ms. Laine:
"Teacher! Long time since December!"
"Yes, time really flies… I remember you all back in sixth grade, so tiny. At least some of you matured."
"True!"
"Especially Noah — he used to get angry and curse a lot. He's grown up now."
"Ah… Noah…" Isla whispered, unenthusiastic.
As class started, the teacher noticed students talking.
"And did you see the goal the comma scored?"
"Huh?!"
The clueless Noah immediately got scolded.
Guess I should copy the notes before I end up talking too… Isla thought.
When the bell rang, break time began.
In line for lunch, standing behind Noah and Dudu, Isla turned to her friend.
"What's today's snack, Mayara? I can't see from here."
"Bread with ground beef."
"Just one question."
"Yes?"
"How do you know it's ground beef?"
"Because I asked the lunch ladies before class."
"Wow… such a curious girl."
"Curious? No — I'm simply a person interested in knowing things."
"You literally just described curious."
Mayara ignored her, and an awkward silence fell between them. After grabbing their food, they talked, joked, and when the next bell rang, went back to class.
The teacher entered and wrote today's content on the board.
When school ended, Isla waved goodbye.
"Alright then… good afternoon, everyone!"
Heading home, she spent the afternoon playing Roblox with Dudu, Mayara, and Tamires.
After the game session, she got ready for bed.She showered, strangely thoughtful for reasons she couldn't explain.Back in her room, she knelt and prayed before sleeping.
She thanked for the great day she had… and asked for tomorrow to be even better.
And just like that, Isla's first school day of 2025 came to an end.