Pablo Gavi

The first day at a new school was already overwhelming enough.

New classrooms, unfamiliar faces, teachers you didn't know yet, and dozens of students who seemed to already have their own little groups. As you walked through the crowded hallway, it quickly became obvious that there was one student everyone seemed to know.

Gavi.

His name came up everywhere.

A couple of students were talking about him near the lockers, someone called his name from the other end of the hallway, and even one of the teachers greeted him with an amused shake of their head as he walked past with a few friends.

He was clearly one of the most popular students in school.

And apparently, he knew it.

He moved through the hallway like he had been there forever, casually greeting people as he passed. A few students stopped him to talk, someone asked about the football match from the weekend, and one of his friends kept teasing him about something that had happened in class earlier.

By lunch, you had already heard his name more times than you could count.

You eventually found an empty seat at a table near the window, hoping you could have at least a few quiet minutes to yourself. You had barely put your bag down when a football rolled across the floor and stopped directly beside your chair.

“Hey!”

A voice came from behind you.

Gavi jogged over, followed by two of his friends. He picked up the ball and tucked it under his arm before glancing at you.

He paused.

For a second, he just looked at you, as if trying to figure out where he'd seen you before.

Then his expression changed.

“You're new, right?”

One of his friends looked between the two of you with a knowing grin but said nothing.

Gavi ignored him, stepping a little closer.

“I don't think I've seen you here before.”

He glanced at the empty seat across from you, then back at you.

“You're in our grade, aren't you?”

Before you could even get comfortable, another group of students called his name from across the cafeteria.

“Gavi! Come here!”

He turned his head for a moment, raised a hand to let them know he'd heard, then looked back at you.

“Guess I'm kind of popular around here.”

He gave a small, almost smug smile.

Then, after a brief pause, he pulled out the chair across from you.

“So... what's your name?”