The day stretched like an over-stretched elastic.
In class, Keisha didn't lift her eyes once to look at Léandro. Her fingers traced words on paper, methodical. She answered when called on, took notes, remained still. Perfect. Untouchable.
No one would have guessed what had happened earlier… or what was still vibrating just beneath the surface.
At lunch break, she ate with Vanessa as if the world had never changed.
— You're quiet today, Vanessa remarked between bites.
— I'm listening, Keisha replied, her voice calm.
— You do that when you want people to stop asking questions.
A faint smile flickered across her lips, just enough to make one wonder if something lay behind it.
— Exactly.
Vanessa didn't push. She knew how to recognize walls that couldn't be crossed.
Across the room, several girls cast pointed glances at Léandro. Normally, he would have responded with a joke, a smile, or a teasing comment. Not today.
He didn't hear them. All he saw was her refusing gaze. The distance she imposed. The invisible boundary she drew with unsettling ease.
— Dude, you sure you're okay? one of his friends asked.
— I told you I am, he replied, a little too sharply.
He got up and walked away alone. Without explanation. Just the shadow of his steps in the nearly empty hallway.
At the end of the day, Keisha closed her locker. She felt a presence before she even heard the footsteps.
— How long are you planning to avoid me? Léandro asked, his voice low but cutting.
She turned slowly.
— As long as necessary.
— You act like nothing happened.
— Because nothing did, she repeated, her voice firm.
He clenched his jaw. His eyes searched for a crack.
— You can't just decide it doesn't matter.
— I can.
Her gaze didn't waver. An invisible, icy boundary.
— That's what it means to be an Aïnis. I choose what carries weight. And what doesn't.
He had no reply. She passed by him without brushing against him, without looking at him. She left the school alone, as always.
But a fleeting thought crossed her mind:
He insists too much… and that's dangerous.
Léandro stayed still long after she left. This was no longer just attraction. It was a challenge. A puzzle. A boundary he did not yet understand.
— Very well, he murmured.
— I'll learn the rules.
He ignored one essential fact: the rules of the Aïnis are never explained. They are discovered. And sometimes… they destroy.
---
The next day, Léandro arrived earlier than usual. He observed, patient, silent. And he found what he was looking for almost by accident.
Near the stairs, Maya spoke loudly—too loudly.
— I'm telling you, it's not a myth. Aïnis really exist, she said, confident.
— Nonsense… someone snickered.
— You'll see. Some people are just… different.
Léandro stepped back a bit, pretending to look at his phone, while listening.
— So you're one too? asked a girl.
— Maybe, Maya replied with an enigmatic smile. You don't recognize an Aïnis at first glance.
Bingo. Léandro didn't believe a word, but that wasn't the point.
At lunch, he deliberately sat at her table. Maya seemed surprised… then delighted.
— Well, Léandro, that's rare.
— I felt like changing tables, he replied, calm, observant.
He didn't flirt. Not yet. He just existed there. Present. Visible. Every movement calculated, every subtle smile, a silent provocation.
---
Across the cafeteria, Keisha ate with Vanessa.
— What are you looking at? Vanessa asked.
— Nothing.
But her eyes had already seen: Léandro. Maya. Together.
— Maya's been showing off for two weeks, Vanessa shrugged. People love that kind of story.
Keisha chewed slowly.
— There's only one Aïnis here, she said calmly.
Vanessa furrowed her brow.
— Huh?
— Nothing.
But something had shifted inside her. Léandro was playing. And Keisha didn't like it.
---
In the following days, Léandro pressed just enough to be seen.
He walked through the halls with Maya, laughing, letting her cling to his arm. The rumors spread naturally.
Keisha heard everything. She said nothing. But the closer he got to Maya, the more she felt the emptiness widen.
One evening, at the school gate, she stopped.
He's trying to force me to look…
She took a deep breath.
— Bad idea… she murmured.
Because Léandro had made a fundamental mistake: Aïnis don't react like others. And when they finally do… it's often too late to step back.