Chapter 1 The Boy I Wasn't Supposed to Notice
Danisha dropped her bag onto the chair and looked around the classroom.
"Is he here?"
Her friend, Mira, looked up from her phone.
"Who?"
Danisha immediately looked away.
"No one."
Mira stared at her.
"You literally looked around the whole room."
"I was looking for my seat."
"Your seat is right beside me."
Danisha laughed quietly.
"Okay, fine."
Mira put her phone down.
"Elias?"
Danisha rolled her eyes.
"Why do you always know?"
"Because you make it obvious."
"I do not."
"You do."
"How?"
Mira leaned closer.
"You look at him every time he walks into the room."
Danisha quickly looked toward the door.
"I don't."
Mira smiled.
"You just did it again."
Danisha covered her face with her hands.
"Please shut up."
"I'm just saying."
"He's just cute, okay?"
"Just cute?"
Danisha lowered her hands.
"He's nice too."
Mira raised an eyebrow.
"Uh huh."
"And funny."
"Okay."
"And he's actually easy to talk to."
Mira smiled wider.
"You like him."
Danisha looked down at her notebook.
"Maybe."
"Since when?"
Danisha thought for a moment.
"I don't know."
"You've liked him for months."
"I know."
"And you're still not planning to tell him?"
Danisha shook her head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because what if it ruins everything?"
"You two aren't even close."
"Exactly."
Mira laughed.
"So you're scared of ruining something that doesn't exist yet?"
Danisha smiled.
"Basically."
Before Mira could say anything else, someone pulled the empty chair in front of them.
Elias sat down.
"What's funny?"
Danisha immediately became quiet.
Mira looked at her.
"Nothing."
Elias looked between them.
"That sounded suspicious."
Danisha laughed.
"We weren't talking about you."
"I didn't say you were."
"You were thinking it."
Elias smiled.
"Maybe I was."
Mira stood up.
"I'm getting water."
Danisha looked at her.
"You're leaving me?"
"I'll be back."
Mira walked away.
Danisha watched her leave.
Elias looked at her.
"Your friend always like that?"
"Like what?"
"She keeps leaving whenever I'm around."
Danisha laughed.
"Maybe she has somewhere to be."
"Sure."
There was a short silence.
Then Elias looked at Danisha's notebook.
"What are you writing?"
"Nothing."
"You've been writing for ten minutes."
"It's just something."
"Can I see?"
Danisha quickly closed the notebook.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because it's embarrassing."
"Now I really want to see it."
"No."
"Come on."
"No."
Elias laughed.
"Fine."
Danisha smiled.
"You give up easily."
"I don't want to annoy you."
Something about the way he said it made her pause.
She looked at him.
"You don't annoy me."
Elias smiled.
"Good to know."
The bell rang.
Everyone started settling into their seats.
Danisha opened her notebook again.
She looked at the page she had been writing on.
It was a story.
A girl who liked someone she could never tell.
She closed the notebook.
Maybe someday, she thought.
Maybe someday she would be brave enough to tell him.
For now, she was okay with being his friend.
At least, that was what she told herself.
