I was standing outside on the corridor. My building was symmetrical — two wings, A and B, connected from the first floor by a hallway just below the terrace, forming a semi-circle. From my side in B Wing, I could see directly across to A Wing, not sideways but right in front of me.
That's when I saw him — a boy I had never seen before. He stood on the opposite corridor, tall, around my age, with a nice hairstyle — a bit short, but cool. Then it clicked: he must be from the new family that just moved in.
It was about eleven on a Sunday morning. I ran downstairs, calling out for Nash, breathless with excitement."I just saw the new guy!" I told him. "He's on the opposite wing!"
We both rushed to A Wing. Believe me, it was the first time I had ever used that wing's lift — and it was terrifying. It shook and stopped midway a few times, but somehow we made it.
I don't know why, but I really wanted to meet him. There was this strange urge — something I hadn't felt before. Being a quiet guy, I rarely approached anyone. I only had Nash, thanks to my teacher, and Chase and Cedar were the ones who joined in whenever I asked them to play. But this was the first time I was personally going to someone's home and asking them to join us.
Me and Nash stood outside his door, debating who should ring the bell. We were both introverts, so even this small thing felt like a big mission."You ring it," Nash whispered."No, you do it!" I replied.After a minute of arguing, we decided I'd ring the bell, but both of us would stand there when someone answered.
I pressed the button and waited. A few seconds later, a woman—probably his mother—opened the door. We greeted her and welcomed her to the society.
To my surprise, she already knew who I was. "You're Soren, right?" she asked.
I froze for a second. I hadn't mentioned my name, and it wasn't like I was popular or anything. How did she know?
She smiled, noticing my confusion, and explained, "Your uncle and my husband are good friends. He told us about you before we moved here."
While she spoke, I glanced inside and saw a girl quickly running to her room with a water bottle in her hand. She looked about my age. Probably his sister, I thought.
Back to the conversation, I didn't quite know how to ask if "the boy" could come play with us. Saying the boy sounded awkward, but before I could figure it out, his mother asked,"You two must be here for Axel, right?"We both nodded quickly.
She smiled. "He's not home right now, but he'll be back by three. You can come by later."I asked, "Would it be okay if he joins us to play around four?""Of course," she said warmly.
And that was how I met Axel's mother — and briefly saw his sister, though we didn't speak.
After lunch, I studied for about three hours. By the time I looked at the clock, it was 4 PM — my favorite time of the day.
From the corridor, I spotted a boy sitting on the ramp, holding a bat. Axel.
I rushed downstairs through the back gate, called Nash from his apartment, and we went to meet him.
"Hi Axel, I'm—"He cut in, smiling. "Soren. And you must be Nash, right? My mom told me about you both."
From the way he spoke — polite, calm, confident — I could tell he was a nice guy. Up close, I noticed faint black spots on his neck."Did something happen?" I asked gently.He laughed lightly. "It's a birthmark, nothing serious."
Soon, Chase and Cedar arrived too. We all introduced ourselves, and the match began. Since there were five of us, Nash played as a common player for both teams. Axel and I teamed up against Chase and Cedar.
We won the toss and chose to bat first. I opened, playing safe — a few drives and defensive shots. Then Axel took the strike. Cedar bowled fast — he was the best bowler among us — but Axel stepped out and smashed a massive six on his very first ball. We were all stunned. When he followed it up with a four on the next one, we couldn't stop cheering.
He was a power hitter, completely opposite to me. I liked taking it slow; he liked going all in. Together, it was the perfect balance.
Axel got bowled at 35, I made 40, and Nash added 5, giving us a total of 80 runs.
When it was their turn to bat, Chase and Cedar put up a good fight. I bowled tight overs, while Axel bowled with precision — his pace, line, and yorkers were impressive. Chase got out on my last ball at 12 runs. Nash followed soon after — Axel bowled him out at 6.
I teased Nash, "Why do you score more runs for them than for us?"He laughed. "Maybe they pay better!"
But then Cedar turned into an absolute monster. He hit every direction possible, scoring 63 runs alone and leading his team to victory.
We all cheered for him — he truly deserved it. If I had to rank us, Cedar would be first, me second, then Chase and Axel together, and finally Nash — our cheerful all-rounder.
Axel smiled. "Quite a welcome match for me. You guys are awesome.""Welcome to the group!" Nash added proudly.
We were all tired after the game, sitting under the evening sun when a voice called out, "Axel!"
A girl approached — the same one I'd seen earlier. She looked annoyed."I've been calling you from the corridor forever! You didn't even look once."
Axel laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, Grace! I was too focused on trying to get Cedar out."
So that was her name — Grace.
She told him their mom was calling; they had to get ready for a birthday party. Nash, Chase, and Cedar went out to buy water, leaving me and Axel there.
Grace waited outside the shade while talking to him. The sunlight was harsh, so I said, "You should come under the shade, it's too hot out there."
At first, she gave me a sharp look, like I'd interrupted her. But when she realized I was just concerned, she smiled — and that smile… it stuck with me. Her eyes were black yet beautiful, her face soft and kind, and her messy bun made her look effortlessly perfect.
She turned to me and said, "I'm Grace, Axel's sister.""I'm Soren," I replied, smiling. "Nice to meet you.""Nice to meet you too," she said, shaking my hand politely.
When I asked Axel how old he was, he said, "Ten.""I'm eleven," I replied, smiling.Grace interrupted, teasing, "So we're about the same age, Soren."I smiled back.
After a moment, she remembered why she came, took Axel's hand, and said goodbye.
When my friends came back, they saw Grace leaving and immediately started asking what had happened."Nothing," I said quickly. "We were just talking."
They looked at each other and shrugged, believing me. I didn't tell them about Grace — about her smile, or the strange feeling that lingered after she left. I didn't know why, but I wanted to keep that moment to myself.
Maybe it was something new. Maybe it was the start of something I couldn't yet name.