Chapter 1
A ninth-grade student named Noah wakes up and grabs his phone.
It's his first day of school. He wonders if he should even go, but then remembers what he promised himself at the end of last year.
He closes his eyes and thinks:
"Next year, I'll be different. I'll make the most of everything I can."
Now, in the present, Noah hesitates about going—knowing that person might be in his class—but decides to go anyway.
When he arrives at school, the principal greets him with a cheerful "Good afternoon."
He looks happily at the class schedule and sees that the first three periods are Portuguese.
It's not his favorite subject, but it's taught by his favorite teacher, Ms. Laiane.
Once in class, he gives her a quick hug.
— "I missed you, Ms. Laiane."
He sits down according to the seating chart and starts mentally noting where everyone else is sitting.
Then roll call begins.
— "Noah!"— "Present."
As Ms. Laiane continues the attendance, Noah drifts off into his thoughts.
— "Alright, let's start our first topic of the term!" she says brightly.
While she writes notes about punctuation on the board, two students start chatting about soccer.
— "Did you see that goal Lamine scored? Top corner! He's already one of the best in the world…"— "Best in the world, my foot! He's nowhere near that, don't exaggerate."
Noah joins in.— "You're both clueless! Just because Lamine scored one amazing goal doesn't make him the best. You judge a player by his career, and he's just getting started. You're talking nonsense."
The teacher overhears.— "Oh, so you all saw the amazing comma goal, huh?"
The whole class bursts out laughing.— "Hahaha!"— "Look at the three clowns!"— "That's not what your mom said last night!" Noah shoots back, half joking, half arrogant.
Then he glances at the clock, lost in thought.
"Man… it feels like fifth grade was just yesterday. I still remember the dumb stuff I did to that person."
— "Ahh… (yawns) Better finish copying this. Recess is almost here."
The bell rings.
Standing behind Dudu in line, Noah asks:— "Hey Dudu, do you know what the snack is today?"— "Heard it's ground beef sandwiches. Not my favorite, but I'll eat it. I'm starving."— "Stop being picky, Dudu! It's free food. I'd eat rock soup if that's what they gave us."— "Rock soup?"— "You can't eat rocks, right?"— "No, idiot! It's a metaphor—it means I'd eat anything. You're in ninth grade and still don't know what a metaphor is? Seriously?"— "Yeah… I was just trying to be funny."— "Well, you weren't. It's just annoying," Noah snaps a little.
After getting their food, they sit down to eat.
Once they're done, they head to the courtyard. Noah joins a soccer game, while Dudu plays ping-pong.
— "Come on, score already, you lousy striker!"— "No way! You cheated! You hit it right on the edge!" Dudu protests.— "Oh, quit whining! You missed the ball and that's somehow my fault?"— "Whatever… didn't even wanna win anyway."
Back in class, they see the history teacher waiting.
— "Alright, time to write!"— "Whaaat?!" the entire class groans.— "Oh, come on, sir!"— "I'm writing it anyway!"
Noah writes everything down and chats until it's 5:20 p.m., when someone jokes:— "Teacher, can we pack up? Only five minutes left—it's not worth starting anything new."— "No way! You can write a lot in five minutes," the teacher teases.Then he laughs. "Just kidding. Go ahead and pack up."
Everyone puts away their notebooks and lines up to leave.
Noah heads straight home—he lives close by.
At home, he changes clothes, checks his phone, and goes to the court to play soccer.
He scores three goals and gives two assists.
Back home again, he takes a shower and gets ready for bed.
He prays, thanking God and asking that tomorrow be even better—and just like that, Noah's first day of 2025 comes to an end.