The last bell rang, but my mind stayed stuck on one thing—
him.
The boy at the last bench.
The boy who shouldn't know me, but somehow did.
I stuffed my books into my bag a little too quickly. Riya noticed, of course. She always does.
"Girl, you've been zoning out since science class. Don't tell me you're still thinking about your mystery guy."
"Who said he's mine?" I shot back.
She grinned. "Denial. Stage one of obsession."
"Riya!"
Trent popped his head in from the doorway, munching on a packet of chips. "Talking about Siena's crush again? Count me in."
"I don't have a crush!" I said, louder than necessary. Half the class turned.
Riya patted my arm. "You can't lie louder and expect it to sound truer."
I groaned. "You guys are the worst."
Later, in the courtyard…
The school was bathed in soft orange light. Birds screeched, lockers slammed, and someone's basketball bounced across the hallway like it had a mission.
We sat under the big neem tree near the garden — Riya, Trent, and me.
Trent kicked a pebble. "So what's the plan, Detective Siena? You gonna ask him what his deal is, or keep pretending you're not dying to know?"
"I'm not dying to know," I muttered.
"Sure," Riya said, sipping her cold chocolate.
"That's why you've been staring at the same spot for five minutes."
"I was thinking!"
"About him," Trent said.
I threw a leaf at him. "About life! Big difference!"
He smirked. "Life apparently has a name and sits at the last bench."
Riya laughed so hard she nearly choked on her drink.
I rolled my eyes, but the truth burned quietly inside me. Maybe they weren't wrong.
The next morning…
Rain had washed the campus clean, leaving the air smelling like wet notebooks and chalk dust. I entered the class early, half-expecting—
No, hoping—to see him.
He was already there. Headphones around his neck, chin resting on one hand, eyes fixed outside the window.
Okay. You can do this, Siena. Just talk like a normal human.
I walked over. My heart was doing jumping jacks. "Hey."
He looked up slowly. "Hey."
Wow. Brilliant start, Siena. Great vocabulary.
"Um," I said, clutching my notebook, "you gave me that photo the other day… right?"
He nodded. "Yeah."
I pulled it out carefully. "Then why does it have my initials on it?"
He didn't answer immediately. His eyes flickered to the photo, then to me. "Maybe it's not coincidence."
My pulse skipped. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll see," he said quietly. "Some things return when they're meant to."
Before I could ask anything else, the teacher walked in, and the moment was gone—just like that.
Lunch Break — The Gossip Table™
"So?" Riya demanded. "Did he talk to you?"
"Define talk," I said.
"Define you'll see," Trent chimed in. "That's what he said, right?"
I sighed. "You guys are unbelievable."
Riya leaned forward. "Siena, this isn't just about the note anymore. Something's going on."
"I know," I whispered. "And I'm starting to think it's connected to me somehow."
She blinked. "You?"
I nodded. "There's something about that photo. Something… off."
Trent waved a chip dramatically. "We love a main character with trauma and mystery."
"Trent, eat your drama," Riya said.
He shrugged. "Already am."
That Evening…
The rain started again, light and steady.
I sat at my desk, the photo glowing under the yellow lamp.
The words "Do not forget" stared back at me, and for a second, I thought I saw something new—
faint letters at the corner.
Three of them.
C.N.R.
My hand froze.
Those were my initials.
"How…" I whispered.
Thunder rolled outside, soft and low.
And for the first time, I felt like the mystery wasn't about him anymore.
It was about me.