Opening study is the most overrated activity in beginner chess, and opening PRINCIPLES are among the most underrated. That sounds like a contradiction, so let's untangle it, and then give you a small repertoire anyway, because "just play anything" is unhelpful advice when you're staring at move one.
The honest truth first
Below roughly 1500, almost no game is decided in the opening. Games are decided by hanging pieces, missed tactics, and one-move blunders, usually well after both players have left their memorized moves. A beginner who spends ten hours on tactics will gain more rating than one who spends fifty memorizing opening lines, and it isn't close. Deep opening theory is a tax the top players pay each other; you've been handed an exemption. Enjoy it.
What DOES matter is coming out of the opening with a livable position: pieces developed, king castled, center contested. Principles achieve that in any opening; memorization achieves it only until your opponent's third move surprises you.
A starter repertoire you can learn tonight
As White, open 1.e4 and play the Italian Game: knight to f3, bishop to c4, castle. Every move develops toward the center, the ideas are visible on the board instead of hidden in theory, and you'll understand WHY each piece stands where it stands. That understanding transfers to every other opening you ever learn.
As Black against 1.e4, meet it with 1...e5 and develop the same way: knights out, bishop somewhere sensible, castle. Against 1.d4, play 1...d5 and do the same. Symmetry isn't cowardice at this level; it's a promise that you reach a normal middlegame where the better tactician wins, and after your tactics training, that's you.
When your opponent leaves the script immediately
They will, constantly, and this is where memorizers panic and principled players thrive. When you don't know the move, fall back on the checklist: does my move develop a piece, fight for the center, or make my king safer? Is anything of mine hanging? Is anything of theirs? That checklist plays a respectable opening against anything, including nonsense.
Grow the repertoire later, one honest question at a time: when a specific opening keeps hurting you in real games, learn the response to THAT. Your own games will tell you exactly which openings deserve your study hours, which beats guessing from a books list every time.