ᴇᴄʜᴏᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴜꜱ

Chapter 6: Lessons Unspoken

Izuko's pov

Sitting in the middle of the classroom, I tried my best to focus as Ms. Kim handed out the assignment for the day. It wasn't hard to enjoy her classes; she made everything seem so effortless. Today, we were diving into a discussion about character development—how people in stories change over time, through events or relationships.

As I scribbled down notes, something about the topic stuck with me, gnawing at the back of my mind. It was impossible not to think of Sarah. How things had changed between us. How we had changed. One year had passed, and yet here we were, acting like strangers in a room full of people who didn't know our story.

I could feel Riy glance over at me every now and then, but she didn't say anything. Probably for the best. It was like she knew I needed space to figure out what I was feeling.

Ms. Kim's voice echoed through the classroom, pulling me back into focus. "Remember, characters are more than just what they say. They are defined by their actions, and sometimes, the silence between them speaks louder than words."

I bit my lip. Was it silence that had grown between me and Sarah? Or was it something more? The weight of everything we hadn't said was beginning to feel unbearable. There was so much I wanted to ask her, so much I wanted to explain. But what if she didn't want to hear it?

"Alright, class, partner up and discuss a character from one of our readings who went through significant change," Ms. Kim's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

Riy immediately turned to me with a smirk. "You and me, obviously."

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "Obviously."

As we started talking through our ideas, my thoughts kept drifting back to Sarah. Maybe it was time to stop overthinking everything and just talk to her. The bell rang, and I grabbed my things, determined to at least try.

"Ready to head out?" Riy asked, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Yeah," I said, but my mind was already on the hallway, on the possibility of seeing Sarah again.

As we stepped out into the corridor, I spotted her—just for a moment, down the hall, talking to Aysh. My heart did that annoying skip it always did when she was around. But instead of running the other way like I'd done all year, I started walking toward her.

Before I could even process what I was doing, I was standing there, face-to-face with Sarah.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound casual, though I felt anything but.

She looked surprised for a second, her expression unreadable. "Hey."

There was an awkward pause before I blurted out, "Look, about earlier... I didn't mean for it to get weird. I just—"

"It's fine," she interrupted, but there was something in her eyes that told me it wasn't.

I didn't know what to say. It was like all the words I'd rehearsed in my head evaporated the second I stood in front of her. Sarah sighed, glancing away as if trying to figure out what to say too.

"Izu, we should—"

Before she could finish, Nya appeared out of nowhere, grinning like she'd won some secret bet. "What's up, guys? Am I interrupting another intense moment?"

Jenna was right behind her, giving me a knowing look. "You two look like you're about to have a staring contest."

We both laughed awkwardly, the tension melting away for a second as Nya and Jenna pulled us into casual conversation. It was easier to pretend things were normal with them around. But the weight of everything unsaid hung between me and Sarah like a thread, waiting to snap.

Just when I thought we might actually be getting somewhere, Sarah's phone buzzed. She looked down at it and frowned.

"Choir practice," she muttered, glancing at me briefly. "I've gotta go."

"Yeah, sure," I said, trying not to let the disappointment show.

As Sarah walked away, I stood there, watching her disappear down the hall, my mind spinning. This wasn't over. Not by a long shot. And for the first time in a long time, I knew I had to do something about it...but what?