1 Chapter 1

"Why did they have to do this?", Keith thought, puzzled. He didn't understand why his parents needed to divorce. " They could've just talked it out.". At that time, Keith was just a 15 year old boy. He couldn't grasp the situation that much at that time. Keith and his mom were now on a plane to America from Japan.

When they arrived at the airport, they took a bus to go to Keith's grandfather's place since they have nowhere else to go now. The next day, was the first day of high school for Keith. It was already the second semester, but the headmaster of the school said that it was alright if he transferred there.

Keith almost didn't want to go but, his mom told him that if he didn't want to go for himself, then he should go for her. Since she was the only one working, Keith's mom only had enough salary so that they could survive. She wanted to see her son happy in the future, she wanted to see him visiting her, smiling with his family with him. After all, he hasn't smiled since the day of the divorce.

Keith, in the end, agreed to go to school. He frowned all the way while walking to school until, he saw a girl beaming with sunlight. Her smile was blinding. Her eyes shone with joy and delight while talking to her friends. "She's the complete opposite of me", Keith thought. But, something was weird. He noticed that he was now wearing a smile. He was perplexed by the fact that his mood rapidly changed. He was depressed until a minute ago but, now he's smiling. It's sort of a useless thought but, maybe she could bring back the happiness in his life.

When Keith went inside his new classroom he saw the girl earlier. And she was also sitting next to his seat. It was as if fate brought them together. But, he didn't let all this make him delusional. He believed in, " Don't set expectations if you don't want to be disappointed. ".

But later that day, the girl introduced herself to him as Alice Holmes and helped him in learning English because he lived in Japan for 15 years and he wasn't accustomed to writing and speaking in that language. She also helped him get used to the city since he was new there. She made him laugh for the first time in months. Alice even let Keith call her Lia, Alice's nickname. It was like his loneliness disappeared after meeting Alice. Keith's Mom also noticed something about Keith. He would occasionally smile and check on his phone at dinner if there were any new messages. He would also go out of the house frequently saying that he was going to meet his "friend".

As time passed by, Keith became more fond of Lia. He decided to confess one day. He plucked up the courage and asked her to meet him in their classroom after school.