Six months before
It was an ordinary day, sitting in a corner seat of the underground subway, the air thick with the hum of people and the smell of human odor, coffee, food, and perfume mixed as usual. My sister, Melissa, sat next to me while answering her messages. I looked at the dark window, blurred colors and cement passing before my eyes, trying not to be disturbed by vendors shouting, selling tamales and atole in this wagon. Four stops to go until Prepa Nueve, our school, in this noisy, smog-filled city that never stops.
"So, what are you going to do at school?" Melissa asked suddenly, her dark ponytail swinging as she turned. "Did you finish the homework, or have you forgotten it again?"
"Yeah, Melissa, the usual," I said, shrugging, my eyes heavy. Downsides of staying up late, scrolling on my phone until two a.m.
"And that math class problem?" she went on, one eyebrow raised like she knew I was hiding something.
"It's fixed," I mumbled sleepily, leaning against the cold window.
I grew up with Melissa like she was my real sister. My parents adopted me as a baby, and I never knew my other family, so for them and Kael, they're my world. Kael, my cousin by marriage and my bedroom neighbor, is more like my best friend, always around, never letting me be alone—until today, which is new. I tease him often about being my shadow, but I need to admit that I'm used to his care, even if I don't get why he's so intense sometimes. We're not rich, but my parents always make sure I have what I need and sometimes also books, clothes, and a phone that's not too old. I should be grateful for everything I have, but something is missing.
My reflection showed in the window—hazel hair and tired hazel eyes. I glanced at Melissa, her dark hair tied back, her figure catching the eyes of a few guys in the crowded car, even in the dim subway light. She's always been the one who stands out, confident, like she owns the world.
"This is our stop," Melissa said, tossing me my backpack and rubbing her shoulder. "What do you have in there?, a dog? Your backpack is heavy. You owe me a physiotherapist date."
"Thanks," I said softly.
"Buy me tacos later," she teased, winking to make me laugh, her voice cutting through the subway's rumble.
For some reason I can't name, I suddenly felt a pull to look to my right. A guy sat in the other corner of the car, about my age, staring at the floor. Blonde hair, strong build—probably an athlete. He didn't look up, but something about him made my skin tingle, like electric waves, stronger than anything I'd felt before. My water bottle in my lap shook, the liquid inside swirling up for a second, like it was alive, before splashing back down. Was it my imagination? My heart raced, not just from the subway's sway but from a weird feeling that something was not right.
"Alina!" Melissa's voice snapped me out of my trance. She must have called me several times because she looked exasperated. "We're going to miss our stop if we don't get off!"
I grabbed my bag, my pulse pounding, and pushed through the crowd to the platform, the underground air heavy with damp concrete and the echo of train brakes. Thankfully, this station doesn't have a lot of stairs to go outside.
I inhaled the smell of wet soil mixed with street food and city smells. The street was alive; well, this city seems to avoid sleeping, always active. Melissa tugged my arm, complaining about her shoulder, but I barely heard her. My phone buzzed, and I checked the screen. Kael—why am I not surprised?
"Are you at school yet? Be careful," his text said. I could picture his dark green eyes, always worried, like he sensed something coming. I texted back, "Almost there," my heart pounding hard in my chest again.
At Prepa Nueve, the school's gray walls loomed under the cloudy sky, my classmates rushing through the gates before the bell. Melissa ran ahead to her friends, leaving me by the entrance, my heavy backpack on my shoulder. The tingling came back. Weird. I stretched my arms, trying to forget this strange feeling. I opened my water bottle and drank a sip of water.
"Hey, are you okay?" Kael's voice came from behind. I turned, and there he was, his jacket damp on top of his uniform, his dark hair messy because of his rush, his eyes trying to search for the reason why I looked weird in his sight.
"Yeah, just… tired," I lied, a flash of thought about the subway guy and this weird feeling coming back to my mind. Kael stepped closer without taking his eyes off me.
"Are you sure?" he said with a low and understanding voice, his warm and steady hand brushing my arm, maybe thinking I had a cold. "You look… off today."
I nodded, but my mind was stuck on that moment in the subway. The tingling felt like it was still there, in my veins. Maybe I should go to the school nurse later. He dropped his questions, and his shoulders relaxed.
We walked into school, the halls loud with teenagers chatting and slamming their lockers.
I joined our math class, Kael sitting at the desk next to me, like always.
My other best friend, and the only one who is not part of my family, greeted me from afar when she entered the classroom.
"Hey, Alina! I have updates for you," she said while walking and sitting next to me. "We have a new handsome student. Some say he's from Europe. He's too handsome to be here; he should be an actor."
Kael scoffed. I glared at him.
"Sad about no longer being the most handsome jerk at school?" I said, rolling my eyes. "Thank God, now we have competitors. Your fans will let me breathe now."
"That's mean of you, Alina," he said with a fake hurt face. "I share the daily mutiny with you, and they're nice to you."
I smiled, shaking my head. It's a losing battle to try reasoning with him.
"So… is he really that handsome?" I asked her, more to chat with her than out of curiosity, and she continued with sparkling brown eyes.
"Yes, he is," she nodded excitedly. "I thought they were lying. Daniela saw him last week, and she heard him talking with the principal, but he arrived just before the school closed its gates. I glimpsed him, and now I'm sure she didn't lie to me."
I inhaled. Finally, peace at school. Kael's not going to shine as usual. Is that going to hurt Kael's ego?
I glanced at him, but he was looking at me weirdly. Do I have a stain on my face?, I wiped my face with my sweater sleeve to check. Apparently not. What am I thinking?
Then Teacher Hernandez arrived, and silence was finally granted to my ears.
While in math class, I tried to focus on what the teacher was saying without success, so I started to scribble in my notebook. The tingling persisted, and the silence was now making the chaos in my mind worse. A weird noise caught my attention. The sink by the window swirled. I blinked. Now I'm imagining things.
The teacher spoke about equations, but all I could think was that something wasn't right.
I remembered a time when I was ten, running through the market near our house. A group of older kids had cornered me, laughing, until Kael showed up. His eyes were fierce, like he was fighting something bigger than them. He pulled me away, his hand tight on mine, and never explained why he looked so worried later. "Just stay close to me," he said, like he always did. That day stuck with me. Maybe Kael knows something important about me. He wasn't like that before. When we were both four years old, he suddenly stopped arguing with me about simple stuff, like taking his toys without permission or watching a TV cartoon he didn't like, and at the same time, he started taking his martial arts classes seriously. It was kind of funny seeing that side of him. But so young… that maturity was awkward.
The bell rang, bringing me back to the present. I shook off the memory, and we headed to the hallway after class. That's when I saw him again—the blonde guy from the subway. He was far down the hall, leaning by a locker, taking notes in a notebook. His head was down, but I could see his strong shoulders and his blonde hair catching the light. My skin burned, the tingling surging stronger, but he didn't look up, like he was just another student. Still, I felt something about him that wasn't normal.
Classes passed smoothly. Coming home was urgent because it was still raining outside. Summer brings a lot of flooding and potholes to the streets of this city. I stood under the school's entrance, watching puddles form.
The tingling grew, and a puddle near my feet reflected my face. My chest tightened. Kael appeared beside me, his face hard, his hand in his pocket where I knew he kept something—a knife, maybe, though he never showed me. What am I thinking? Weapons are forbidden at school, but still, he's very evasive when I ask him about what he has there.
"Let's go home," Kael said, his voice sharp, pulling me toward the street. His eyes scanned the crowd, like he was looking for someone.
The rain fell harder, cold on my face, and the tingling still burned like a warning. The now-famous blonde guy crossed the street with indifferent behavior. The tingling started to fade in my body. Was he related to that odd feeling?
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© NATLAR, 2025