By Friday, everyone knows Maya Cruz's name.
It's on every pair of lips in the corridor, scribbled on the back of someone's notebook, even mentioned by Mrs Jenkins in form assembly "a fine example of new students adjusting well."
Apparently, she's adjusted better than anyone expected.
I sit at my desk in English, chewing on my pen lid as Mr Harris drones on about Shakespeare's Sonnet 116. Liam is across the room, three rows ahead, and Maya sits right next to him. I'm not usually one to pay attention to seating charts, but eversince Tuesday, it's become impossible not to notice.
They share little smiles, whispers that make Liam grin in that way that used to be reserved for me.
"Miss Daniels," Mr Harris says suddenly, "perhaps you can tell us what the poet means by 'love is not love which alters when it alteration finds'?"
The class chuckles. Liam glances back at me, lips twitching.
"It means… true love doesn't change just because circumstances do," I manage, forcing a smile.
Mr Harris nods. "Good. Though I suspect Shakespeare didn't have Year 12 in mind when he wrote that."Laughter again. I sink lower in my seat, cheeks burning.
After class, Liam catches up with me by the lockers.
"Nice save back there," he says, grinning. "You sounded like you actually understood poetry for once."
"I do understand poetry," I retort. "I just don't enjoy being used as a classroom punchline."
He laughs. "Fair point. Fancy grabbing lunch?"
Before I can answer, Maya appears beside him, her hair loose today, curls brushing her shoulders. "Hey, Liam. Are you still showing me the art block later? I've got to hand in that transfer form.""Oh, right. Yeah," he says quickly, then turns to me. "You don't mind, do you?"
I hesitate for a heartbeat. "No, of course not."
He flashes me a grateful smile the kind that always disarms me and they walk off together, chatting easily.
And just like that, I'm left standing there, my sandwich going stale in my bag.
That night, I scroll through Instagram, trying not to look for them. But the algorithm has other ideas.
@MayaCruz_ posted:"New beginnings."
The photo shows Liam and Maya by the art building, sunlight spilling through the windows. He's laughing, carefree. She's looking at him, not the camera.
My stomach sinks.
"Pathetic," I mutter to myself, tossing my phone aside. But my heart doesn't listen.
By the next week, it's official Liam and Maya are inseparable.
Group projects, lunch breaks, inside jokes that I'm no longer part of.
"Maybe she's just new," my friend Ellie says one afternoon. "It'll wear off once the novelty does.""Yeah," I reply, forcing a smile. "Maybe."
But the truth is, it's not novelty. It's connection.
And I can feel it that invisible line that always tethered Liam and me together starting to fray.
Friday night, there's a small gathering at Jordan White's house. Not a full-on party, just music, snacks, and enough cheap cider to make everyone a bit louder than usual.
I tell myself I'm only going because Liam will be there.
When I arrive, he's already in the garden, leaning against the fence with Maya, their heads closetogether under the fairy lights. She's wearing his hoodie.
Something inside me cracks a little.
Ellie loops her arm through mine. "Ignore them," she says. "Let's dance."
So I do. I laugh, I move, I even let someone film a stupid TikTok of us singing along to an old Ed Sheeran song. For a few minutes, I forget.
Until I glance across the garden and see it Liam's hand brushing against Maya's.
Not by accident.
Deliberate.
And that's when I realise: the change I've been pretending not to notice isreal.
The constant I've always relied on isn't constant anymore.
The next morning, my phone buzzes.
Liam:
"Hey, you got home okay?"
I stare at the screen for a long time before replying.
Me:
"Yeah. Fine."
Liam:
"You seemed quiet last night."
Me:
"Just tired."Liam:
"You sure?"
I start typing, No, I'm not sure. You're slipping away and I don't know how to stop it.
But I delete it.
Me:
"Yeah. See you Monday."
As I set my phone aside, a quiet truth settles in:
You can lose someone long before they actually leave.