The final bell of the day rang with a long metallic echo that bounced through the corridors. Chairs scraped against the floor, bags zipped shut, and students poured out of classrooms like water from a broken dam. School was over.
Usually, dismissal felt like freedom. But today, my head was still trapped inside the English and Literature Club hall. Inside that moment. Inside that scene. Inside that strange feeling that hadn't quite left my chest since Ethan and I stood in front of everyone pretending to say goodbye. Except… it hadn't exactly felt like pretending.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and stepped out of the classroom, trying to shake the thought away.
The hallway buzzed with noise—students laughing, arguing, planning their evening football matches or gossiping about teachers.
Chris and Amanda were ahead of me, already discussing something loudly.
"Your acting was terrible," Amanda was saying.
Chris gasped dramatically. "Excuse me? I carried that entire performance."
"You screamed like a goat."
"That was emotional depth!"
I almost smiled. Almost.
I stepped outside into the warm afternoon sunlight and began walking toward the school gate.
And then I heard footsteps catching up behind me.
"Sharon."
I turned slightly. Ethan.
He slowed his pace until he was walking beside me.
For a moment neither of us spoke. Then he suddenly said something that completely caught me off guard.
"I'm really glad I got paired with you."
The words came out a little too quickly. A little too bluntly. I felt my stomach flip.
My steps slowed slightly.
"What?"
Ethan seemed to realize how that sounded at the exact same moment.
His eyes widened slightly.
"Oh—uh—I mean…"
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"You're Shakespeare after all."
I blinked.
"What?"
He shrugged, trying to look casual now.
"You know. The whole writing thing."
He gestured vaguely.
"You're good at it."
"Oh."
I nodded slowly. The uneasy feeling in my chest refused to leave.
Before either of us could say anything else—Two hands suddenly covered my eyes from behind.
"Guess who."
I froze. For half a second.
Then I sighed.
"Daniel."
The hands immediately dropped.
Daniel appeared beside me with a grin.
"You didn't even hesitate."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You always smell like that same cologne."
Ethan snorted quietly.
Daniel looked slightly offended.
"That's a compliment."
"It's very strong," Ethan said.
Daniel ignored him.
"So," he said, falling into step beside us, "how are my two favourite performers?"
I felt heat crawl up my neck.
"We weren't performing."
Daniel grinned.
"Oh, you definitely were."
He looked between Ethan and me.
"That scene felt very real."
I focused on the road ahead.
"Mrs. Matilda gave the prompt."
"Sure," Daniel said.
But the tone in his voice made me suspicious that he wasn't fully convinced.
The three of us continued walking down the street that led away from school.
Usually we walked with Chris and Amanda too, but today they had turned down another street earlier, still arguing about their ridiculous stage performance.
Which meant it was just us. Sharon. Ethan. Daniel. An awkward triangle moving down the road.
I tried to keep my expression calm. Collected. Normal. But inside my brain everything felt like tangled threads.
Ethan occasionally kicked small stones on the road as we walked. Daniel hummed some random tune under his breath.
Then Daniel suddenly said,
"So what's the plan for the assignment?"
My shoulders tensed.
Ethan answered before I could.
"We'll figure it out."
Daniel glanced at him.
"You two already planning secret meetings?"
Ethan looked slightly confused.
"It's just a writing assignment."
Daniel smirked.
"Relax. I'm joking."
But something about the way he said it made my stomach twist again.
Eventually we reached the junction where our paths split. Daniel's house was in another direction.
He stopped walking and stretched his arms.
"Well," he said casually, "this is me."
Then he looked at me.
"See you tomorrow, Sharon."
I nodded.
"Bye."
He turned and started walking away.
Ethan and I continued down the road. But I could still feel Daniel's presence lingering in the air somehow.
After a few minutes, Ethan spoke again.
"So…"
I glanced at him.
"So?"
He kicked another stone.
"We should probably start thinking about that assignment."
I nodded.
"Yeah."
"Maybe tomorrow after school?"
"Maybe."
We walked the rest of the way mostly in silence.
Eventually I reached my gate.
"See you tomorrow," Ethan said.
"See you."
Then I went inside.
The house was quiet. Mom hadn't returned yet.
I dropped my bag on the chair and sat on my bed, staring at the ceiling.
And then my brain began doing something extremely annoying. Replaying the entire day. The math class. The pickup lines.
Daniel using me in his example. Ethan's strange line about limits approaching infinity. The English and Literature Club exercise. The way Ethan looked at me during the scene. The way the room had gone silent. The way it didn't feel like acting.
I groaned and buried my face in my pillow.
"Why is everything suddenly complicated?"
The room offered no answers.
After a while I forced myself to sit up.
I changed clothes, washed my face, and tried distracting myself by reading. But my mind kept drifting back. Back to the stage. Back to that moment. Back to Ethan's voice saying, "You were supposed to stay."
A soft vibration broke my thoughts. My phone. I reached for it. A new message. Unknown number.
I frowned slightly and opened it.
"That scene today… felt too real."
My heart skipped.
The next message arrived before I could respond.
"I can't get it out of my head."
I stared at the screen. Then another message popped up.
"You were incredible."
I hesitated before typing back.
"Who is this?"
The reply came almost immediately.
"Your biggest fan."
I rolled my eyes slightly.
"Seriously."
Three dots appeared.
Then the message arrived.
"Ethan. I have two lines."
Of course.
I leaned back against my pillow.
Another message appeared.
"From now on I'm calling you AG."
I frowned at the screen.
"AG?"
His reply came instantly.
"Artistic Goddess."
I stared at the phone for a full ten seconds.
Then I buried my face into my pillow again.
"Unbelievable."
The phone buzzed once more.
"Goodnight, AG."
I didn't reply immediately.
But even as I lay there staring at the ceiling, one thing became very clear. The little play we performed earlier that day… Hadn't ended on the stage. Not even close.