Chapter 1 THE UNSEES
People remember the first day of a new school with excitement.
I, however, remember that day only by its sounds.
The metallic sound of locker doors...
Laughter filling the hallways...
Footsteps hurrying to catch up with one another...
And the school bell that silenced all that noise.
Then I opened my eyes.
Autumn...
The wind was slowly dragging maple leaves from the schoolyard across the asphalt. Yellow school buses were pulling into the yard one after another; the moment their doors opened, students would spill out noisily. A couple ran to embrace each other. A group was tossing a basketball back and forth, laughter rising after every successful shot.
Everyone belonged somewhere.
Except me.
I hitched the strap of my backpack a little higher and blended into the crowd.
No one bumped into me.
No one turned to look.
It was as if I weren't there.
The moment I stepped through the school entrance, the din grew louder. The walls lining the hallways were covered in club posters.
Photography Club.
Dance Club.
Drama Club.
Sports Club.
Each poster promised a different world where people could belong.
I kept walking.
A teacher was joking with two students, while a few people a little further away held up their phones to record videos. Life was moving along, unaware of my arrival. Just then, the faint sound of a camera shutter came from the other end of the hallway. I turned my head instinctively.
A boy with a camera hanging around his neck was taking a picture of the corridor. He lowered the lens to check the screen, then walked away and disappeared into the crowd as if nothing had happened. I didn't know who he was.
Honestly, I didn't even wonder. I opened the class list on my phone. I slowly scrolled my finger down through the names. Reed, Evelyn. Class 204.
I took a deep breath and looked up from the list. Just then, laughter rising from the other side of the hallway caught my attention.
There was a boy walking through the crowd. Tall, with messy light-brown hair...
He was almost completely surrounded by people.
A girl tapped him lightly on the shoulder and laughed while the class president was telling him something.
I didn't know his name at that moment. I could only see that everyone knew him. For a split second, our eyes met.
No...
Or maybe I just imagined it. Because right after that, one of his friends slapped him on the arm.
"Hey Liam, come on! We're going to be late for class."
The boy turned around and headed for the stairs.
I walked toward my own classroom. When I quietly opened the door to Room 204, most of the people inside didn't even notice me.
There was an empty desk by the window. I sat there. The rest of the class was wrapped up in their own worlds.
A boy in the front row had his headphones on and was watching something on his phone, while three girls in the back were loudly discussing their weekend. A few people had their heads down on their desks, asleep.
No one cared about the new student.
I placed my notebook on the desk. I looked out the window. Clubs were promoting themselves in the courtyard. Shouts drifted over from the basketball court, and students were cheering each other on.
Just then, I saw movement in the window's reflection. The boy who had been taking photos in the hallway earlier...
This time, he had raised his camera toward the classroom. He snapped a picture. Then he walked away. I didn't dwell on it at the moment.
Maybe it was for the school paper. Or maybe he just loved taking photos. When the teacher entered the room, everyone reluctantly took their seats.
"Class,"
he said with a smile.
"A new student has joined us. I’d appreciate it if you could show them around the school during the break."
No one answered.
A few people in the class looked up at me. Then they went back to what they were doing.
The teacher, seemingly unbothered by this, began the lesson. As for me, I quietly opened my notebook and started taking notes.
The first lesson flew by in the blink of an eye.
A different teacher entered the classroom for the second lesson.
He placed the files he was holding onto the desk and glanced around the room.
"We won't be having a regular lesson today," he said. "You're going to work on a project. Form groups of two. You can choose your own partners."
The classroom suddenly came alive.
"James, our group is all set!"
"Sasha, be my partner!"
"No, let's make it a group of three."
I didn't move from my seat.
A minute later, only three people in the class were left without a partner.
Me...
Clara...
And a boy.
The teacher frowned.
"Clara, will you partner with Evelyn?"
Clara shot me a quick glance.
"I don't think so."
The teacher sighed deeply.
He picked up his phone.
After a brief call, there was a knock at the door.
Three upperclassmen walked in.
The first boy to enter...
Was the person I had seen in the hallway.
"Liam Parker."
John and Sonya were with him.
The teacher consulted the list.
"John, you go here... Sonya, join that group..."
The pen in his hand paused.
"Liam... You'll be working with Evelyn."
Liam walked over to me without saying a word.
He pulled out the chair and sat down.
There were only a few centimeters between us.
But that distance felt like miles to me.
Neither I spoke.
Nor did he.
We simply listened to the hum of the classroom.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson.
Liam stood up.
He looked at me for the first time as he slung his bag over his shoulder.
"Library," he said in a calm voice.
"After school."
Then, without any further explanation, he left the classroom.
As for me, I just gave a slight nod.
