Chapter 1

It was already dawn when I woke up. Usually, I would still be sleeping deeply and soundly that early in the morning, but something – and I didn’t mean the quietly snoring body that was lying next to me – prevented me from sleeping any further. I couldn’t really explain what was going on, but some kind of unfamiliar unrest kept me awake. I wasn’t nervous. Really.

Even though today was going to be the first day of school after the summer vacations and therefore the beginning of the new school year, it wasn’t my first day of school in general. There was no reason to be nervous. And even less since I wasn’t new to this school anymore. I had already made some friends, I was familiar with the teachers, and I knew what to expect from my school. Nothing was new to me. Nothing was unfamiliar. Still, I felt uncomfortable even long before school would actually start. What was going on with me?

I glanced next to me. Ramon was still deeply asleep. But there was no reason for him to already be awake; we still had plenty of time until my alarm clock would ring and notify us that it was time to start the day.

Maybe I wasn’t used to sleeping next to another person. Being in so much physical contact with another person was a very new experience for me. Never before had I been in such an odd situation as I was now. Never before had I gotten that close to another human. Maybe my body simply needed more time to get used to the fact that I had less space in bed than before.

Restless, I turned around. I