Looking Out for You

Chapter 1: Head Over Wheels

Luz was running late. She was running very late. She had slept through all three of the alarms she'd set for this morning. And now-

"Gus!" Luz wheezed. "Let me use your bike!"

Gus whipped his head around from where he'd been chatting with Willow. They had been about to go inside the library to work on homework.

"What's going on?" he asked, reaching inside his pants pocket to pull out his key.

Luz bent over, hands on her knees, panting heavily to catch her breath. She winced as she exhaled, the stitch in her side aching uncomfortably. She swallowed, her mouth dry, and shifted the backpack slung over her shoulder.

"I.. need to use... your bike.." Luz repeated, running a hand through her tousled hair. "I have a presentation worth 25% of my grade in 10 minutes and I'll never make it across campus without it."

Gus' eyes widened and he scrambled to toss Luz his keys, which she caught clumsily.

"It's locked at the bottom of the steps-- you know what it looks like."

Luz nodded.

"Good luck!" Willow called as Luz turned and hobbled back the way she came.

After she unlocked the bike, Luz quickly clambered on and turned it in the direction of Clawthorne Hall. Her legs ached from running to catch Gus before she missed him, but she'd just have to push through it. Her professor was an asshole, and had warned the class that if anyone was late their grade on the presentation would automatically drop an entire letter grade.

Luz began pedaling, weaving through the throngs of students making their way to their own classes. Hopefully she'd arrive with enough time to clean up her disheveled appearance. She half-expected her professor to dock points if her appearance wasn't up to his expectations.

There was a pleasant breeze in the air, which felt especially refreshing since summertime was around the corner. Besides feeling tired and exhausted at 8:00AM in the morning, things were turning around. She would soon arrive at class, present her work, and then sleep to catch up on all the hours she'd spent editing her film project.

Luz was halfway to Clawthorne Hall when she saw her.

As she picked up speed, Luz noticed a girl around her age walking down the sidewalk. Her eyes-- what color were they? -- were trained ahead. Luz couldn't help but stare as the girl came closer. Mint-green hair, ripped black jeans, and-- was that an Azura t-shirt ? When she passed by, Luz whipped her head around, half hoping the girl would see her too.

But all she saw was the back of the girl's head as the distance between them widened. Luz frowned, and redirected her attention in front of her.

Only to crash into a trash can.

"Woah!"

Luz flew off the bike and landed in the grass with a thud, her head slamming hard into a tree as her body rolled to a stop. She let out a groan as her ears began ringing and spots appeared in her vision. She tried to sit up, but her body felt leaden.

Dazed, she briefly recalled her (very important) presentation.

I'm so screwed.

Luz wasn't sure how long she lay there in the grass, but after some time the ringing subsided, although her head still pounded. Luz's vision was still hazy, but she made out a figure kneeling down at her side. She blinked. Familiar mint green hair streaked with brown, and warm amber eyes came into focus. A thought fleetingly crossed her mind.

Pretty.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked.

"I am now," Luz mumbled.