Page 24 of Starstruck

But it's the opposite. I know everything that I want to happen. Butgetting into that now isn’t one of those things. So I throw a smile on that shows off my teeth and say, “Thank you.”

The awkward silence that I’m surprised took so long to show up,considering we were all strangers, finally falls between us like a cloud. Slight eye contact and nervous tugs of our clothing are all that we do until someone, the girl in the pink dress and with hair like a brunette Rapunzel, speaks up.

“So, twins, huh?” She directs her question at my roommate and hissister.

Everyone, including me, looks over to the twins, but my attentiongets pulled over to Finn, whose eyes are all wide and wonderstruck.

And boring into the girl who asked the question.

“Finn?” Daisy nudges his shoulder.

Finn pulls his head back and shakes it, throwing his million-dollarsmile right back on like it had never fallen. “Um, yeah. Yeah, since birth.”

A snort comes from Cora, as the rest of us keep our smiles hidden.

Barely.

“And if it wasn’t already obvious, Finn here is our student-athlete.Liberty Lions newest right defenseman over here.” Daisy jests as she rests her elbow on her brother's shoulder.

“Ha ha.” Finn mocks as he shrugs her off his shoulder. “I still gotthe grades to get me a full-ride scholarship. The words 'Dumb' and 'Jock' don't apply to me.”

“Not yet, they don't.” Jesse, who hadn’t spoken a word yet, laughsfrom beside Finn. Which earns him a slight smile from Daisy.

Finn raises his hands in defeat. “Does anyone else want to make funof me? Please be my guest.”

Daisy and Jesse’s heads slowly turn to face each other, a knowing lookflashing between them as identical smirks spread across their faces. Without missing a beat, they started humming in sync, nodding along to an invisible rhythm. It took only a few seconds for the tune to become unmistakable—it was “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast. A mad choice, sure, but harmless enough.

Which made the thunderous look on Finn’s face all the moreperplexing.

The rest of us exchanged confused glances, awkward smiles tuggingat our lips as we tried to figure out what was going on. Finally, Finn’s stony expression cracked, giving way to a smile he was clearly fighting to suppress. “I’m convinced you two only came to this school to piss me off.”

But Daisy and Jesse kept humming, unfazed and undeterred.

“Yeah, real funny,” Finn quipped, rolling his eyes. “Let’s annoy Finn bysinging a Disney song because—oh, hilarious—all the dishes are French, and guess who’s studying French? Me.”

Their humming broke into cackles as Daisy and Jesse collapsedagainst each other, struggling to catch their breath between fits of laughter. The rest of us couldn’t help but join in, our nervous laughs and their infectious ones weaving through our small circle—until Rory cleared her throat, cutting through the noise.

“You’re studying French?” she asked, her eyes settling on Finn.

His hesitation was instant, as his expression faltered for a second,as if he were scrambling to find the right words. He stuttered a bit, eyes wide, and caught off guard before finally nodding. “Yeah… yeah, I am.”

Rory’s smile lit up. “Oh, well, I’m fluent, so if you ever need help...” She trailed off, the shy smile on her lips betraying a hint of nerves.

Finn’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, wow. Thank you.”

A brief silence settled over the group, but it wasn’t long beforeanother familiar melody filled the air from Daisy and Jesse’ corner of the circle—this time humming “Tale as Old as Time”.

Finn's face deadpans. "You two need physically restraining from one another. I can't do this for four years."

A giggle slips from all of the girls, while Jesse and I grunt a laugh.

And from there on out, we melted into a comfortable conversation.

It was natural, the way everyone seemed to get on, as though thislittle pack was one that would survive the mess that would be the next four years. But I was getting ahead of myself, as all I seemed to add to the conversation was a laugh here and there and the odd tight smile when someone said something about what brought them here.

I was fine staying in Finn’s shadow, like he’d promised. But the moreI thought about it, the more I cracked a smile or leaned my head further towards the group to get a clue on where the conversation was heading, the more I felt my mind split in two.

Like a crevasse down a continent, its deep cracks finally breakingthrough the surface and separating a united nation.

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