Chapter 2: Words We Don't Say
Saturday – 9:41 a.m.
The silence was louder than ever.
The ticking clock had become background noise now, replaced by the quiet rustle of pages turning, pencils scratching, and one slow, steady beat from Ethan's foot tapping against the floor like a drum only he could hear.
Aiden looked up from his doodle—a lopsided version of the school mascot dunking a basketball. He leaned back in his chair again, clearly testing Ms. Calder's patience.
"How long has it been?" he whispered, mostly to himself.
"Thirty-nine minutes," Noah answered without looking up from the textbook in front of him.
"Wow," Aiden muttered. "Feels like a lifetime."
Lana glanced up, catching Noah's eye for the first time all morning. He didn't notice her.
Of course he didn't.
She lowered her gaze again and kept her pen moving, pretending to take notes while her thoughts ran somewhere else entirely. Somewhere Noah-shaped.
Across the room, Aria had gone completely still. Her hand hovered over her sketchbook, pencil frozen mid-stroke. From Aiden's angle, he could see the edge of a drawing—half a face. Maybe his. Maybe not. He wasn't sure. And for some reason, that bothered him.
He leaned forward a little. "What are you drawing?"
Aria blinked and pulled the notebook closer, covering the page without a word.
Ethan looked up sharply.
Aiden leaned back like he hadn't said a thing.
"Relax," he muttered. "Just making conversation."
"No talking, remember?" Ethan said. Not loud. Not angry. But enough to make the air a little heavier.
Aria's pencil resumed its glide across the paper.
Aiden rolled his eyes and turned away, but he wasn't thinking about the drawing anymore. He was wondering why Aria wouldn't let him see it. Wondering why she always looked away the second he noticed her.
And why that bothered him too.
---
10:12 a.m.
Ms. Calder finally stood from her desk. "You have ten minutes. Break. Bathroom, water, air. Stay in the hall. No phones."
Everyone stood at once like they'd been waiting to be set free.
Lana hung back until the others were out of the room. She wasn't in a rush.
Neither was Noah, apparently.
He turned at the doorway and looked at her for the first time. "You okay?"
Her heart jumped.
"Yeah," she said. "Just… thinking."
Noah smiled—soft, real. "You always look like you're thinking something interesting."
Lana blinked. "You noticed?"
He nodded. "It's kinda your thing, isn't it?"
She smiled—just a little—and followed him into the hall.
---
Down the hallway, Aria stood at the water fountain, sketchbook tucked tightly to her chest. Ethan leaned beside her, arms crossed, watching the others.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice low.
"I'm fine," she answered, which was her way of saying, Don't ask me about Aiden.
Ethan didn't push. But his jaw tightened just slightly when he saw Aiden glance over at her from down the corridor.
Aiden looked away.
And still, Aria's cheeks flushed.
Ten minutes flew by, and detention resumed.
But the silence wasn't the same anymore. It was heavier. Charged. Like everyone had said something they weren't supposed to—even if they hadn't said anything at all.
And in that strange quiet, something had begun to shift.