Planning.
It can sometimes be the key to a happy and successful life. Have a Plan A, and a Plan B, and keep Plans C through quadruple A on standby, just in case everything goes spectacularly to shit. Make sure to enjoy today, live it like it's the last, but on the off chance you get to live another sixty or seven years, remember to invest, diversify, opt for the renter's insurance, start a nest egg, contribute to the 401K, and so on.
But amidst all the intelligent, in the middle of the putting away for tomorrow and doing what can be done today, it's the twists and turns, the unexpected volleys that end up really mattering. You'll never remember the fifteenth time you go to your accountant to have your taxes done, but you'll more than likely remember stopping by your favorite ice cream shop from your youth the day before it closes its doors forever. You'll take a picture with the owner (a man you've probably only spoken to once) and keep it on your phone, even after you've cycled through three sets of ex's. You won't remember the doctor's appointment you scheduled for your thirtieth-second birthday, but you will remember turning the corner just in time to see a woman who looks like Taylor Swift crossing the street half a block down, except when you tell it to your friends, it will be Taylor Swift, and she'll have complimented you on your taste in eco-friendly footwear.
These things happen to everyone. No one is immune.
So when Sebastian Smythe diverts from his regular path to A.P. French, deciding to take the spiral staircase downstairs instead of the one at the far end of the hall, it unexpectedly becomes one of the more noteworthy days of his teenaged life.
Sebastian has everything he wants out of his high school career.
A shoe in for valedictorian.
Captain of the Varsity Lacrosse team.
Co-captain of the Debate Team.
A Future Business Leader of America.
Early acceptance invitations to four different Ivy League schools.
The only thing he isn't…yet...is Captain of the Dalton Academy Warblers, but he only has one tiny obstacle to get around before he could have that, too.
Yeah, Sebastian has his life planned down to the letter so far, and he isn't one to get derailed for any reason. He doesn't need any unexpected complications.
That is, until…
"Excuse me…um…can I ask you a question? I'm new here."
Sebastian knows the question is directed at him. It's right at his back, by his left shoulder.
Sebastian sighs, turning on his heel to say, "Yeah, and I care why?"
But he can't.
Because standing before him is a vision in a black suede blazer that knocks him down a peg.
And it isn't, "I've been looking for you forever."
It isn't, "I've been waiting my whole life to find you."
No, it isn't anything like that. He's still in high school, for fuck's sake. He isn't even entirely sure what color Porsche he wants for his birthday.
But looking at this boy descend the staircase, pulling off his sunglasses, searching for someone to help him out, is more like, "Fuck…that's the end of it. My life just got one-hundred-and-eighty percent harder."
In the middle of his carefully planned life, this boy on the staircase is about to become a huge complication.