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Sarah walked into the cafeteria, grabbed some food, and found a quiet corner to eat. She was just starting when she noticed Adrian coming out of the hallway, looking completely exhausted.
"Ugh… can you believe that teacher?" he groaned, flopping into the seat across from her. "Always taking our break time, and now we're supposed to spend even more time in school. Just my luck—I won't even get to walk with you today."
Sarah looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Wait… you're not walking with me today?"
Adrian sighed, as if he were trying to explain something to his wife on how he's not going to come home for a week. "Calm down, calm down. You know that project I told you about? The teacher is going to spend extra time explaining it, so… yeah, just for today. Tomorrow we're free, so you can have me all to yourself then. Agree or disagree?"
Sarah dipped her head slightly, hiding her disappointment. "Fine… just for today."
Adrian smirked. "Alright, just for today. Stop looking like you already miss me."
Deep down, Sarah felt her cheeks heat up, and she fumbled with her food to cover her embarrassment. Her eyes darted down, pretending to be focused on the plate, but inside, she was blushing uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, across the cafeteria, Kim and Rose were talking. Rose gushed about a particular dress she had been eyeing.
"I just love this one!" she said. "Do you know how much it costs?"
"Just a few thousand dollars," Rose murmured, excitedly thinking about it.
Kim's mind, however, was elsewhere. Every word Rose said about the dress barely registered. All he could think about was Sarah—how cute she looked, the way she carried herself, the little things he had noticed about her. And suddenly, he caught himself complimenting her in his head, feeling a jolt of surprise and guilt.
Why am I even thinking about her like this? he scolded himself silently. He reminded himself that he had come here only to apologize, nothing more. And yet, his thoughts kept drifting back, replaying moments when Sarah had interacted with him, when she had seemed distant or dismissive.
He remembered what Rose had said about Sarah—how she used to insult him behind his back, how she was a snitch, how her family was… well, complicated. Deep down, Kim knew that if Sarah had just stood up for herself back then, he might have given her a chance. He might have believed her. But he quickly pushed the thought away as the final bell of break rang, signaling the end of free time.
The rest of the school day passed as usual, lessons and chatter filling the classrooms, until the final bell rang, announcing the end of the day.
Sarah quickly pulled out her phone and texted Adrian:
"I'm going home now. Going to your house?"
Adrian replied almost instantly. "Okay. I wish you good luck. See you there."
As she slipped her phone back into her bag, Kim approached her swiftly, handing her a piece of paper. "Don't tell Rose," he whispered.
Curious, Sarah unfolded it and saw Kim's number scribbled neatly.
Why… why is he giving me this? she thought, confusion bubbling in her chest. He just wanted to apologize… so why now? Why give me his number? Is he… trying to talk to me?
Her fingers clutched the paper tightly as she stared at it, questions spinning in her mind. Every little action of his—his eyes, his soft words, the hesitation in his apology—made her wonder what was really going on. She didn't know, and that uncertainty made her heart race.
Just then, Rose appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She grabbed Kim by the arm. "Aren't you coming with me? We're going somewhere," she said, dragging him away from Sarah.
Sarah watched as Rose turned her back, her eyes shooting a death glare—a silent warning, a promise that she wasn't going to let Sarah have any quiet moments with Kim.
Sarah hugged her bag tightly, exhaling slowly. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
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