Chapter 1
"But mom! Why do I have to change schools? I'm really tired of all this change, I just want some peace."
He added with frustration, pacing back and forth he was truly exhausted from the sudden changes happening in his life. He just wanted some quiet.
"I understand you, but this is better for you. The old school wasn't good to begin with."
His mother said as she sipped her coffee. She didn’t truly understand her son’s feelings to her. The only thing that mattered was that everything went according to her plan.
"No, you don’t understand me! Sometimes, you talk like you're my psychological supervisor, not my mother!"
He said it angrily after losing the last ounce of patience he had, and his voice cracked at the end of the sentence. He stood right in front of her, searching her eyes for any reaction… any feeling resembling love or comfort. But he found nothing.
His mother screamed in return,
"Nani!"
The cup trembled in her hands for a moment, but she quickly regained composure and added in a firmer voice:
"Enough. I know what’s best for you."
A heavy silence settled.
Nani didn’t move. His eyes were fixed on the ground, his jaw clenched, his breath uneven. As if everything inside him was screaming.
The morning was gray, and the rain made its way from the sky to the ground.
Nani stood in front of the new school’s gate, staring at the old stones. Nothing felt familiar not the faces, not the colors, not even the smell of the place.
What he hated most about new places was the lack of familiarity… a feeling of instability pulsing inside him with pain.
He took a deep breath, his hand trembling slightly.
"It’s okay…" Just a new beginning… a new beginning."
He told himself, like someone repeating a charm he didn’t believe in but needed to stand.
He walked in with hesitant steps, scanning the hallways everything looked organized, too quiet.
He passed by a group of students chatting and laughing. They didn’t look at him, but he felt their eyes trailing him.
Or maybe it was just his imagination .. his imagination that he no longer trusted.
At some moment, his gaze stumbled upon a person sitting at the edge of the stairs messy hair, earphones in, and eyes not looking at anyone.
He was alone, eyes closed, indifferent to anything happening around him.
Nani didn’t know why he stopped.
Why did he feel something strange pulling him toward him.
Was it because he looked comfortable in his solitude?
But he didn’t move forward.
He kept walking to the classroom, trying to bury the looks and the questions.
Suddenly, the school bell rang not loudly, more like a soft chime announcing the start of class.
Maybe… maybe he would find something to love here.
The footsteps in the corridors grew faster, and the students’ voices filled the space.
Nani opened the classroom door quietly, his hand hesitating on the handle for a moment… then he pushed the door.
Some heads turned toward him immediately.
He was the new student a label he disliked, a title that seemed to stir people's tongues more than it should.
"Come in, sit anywhere that's free."
Said the teacher without looking at him, gesturing routinely with his hand.
Nani nodded silently, scanning the room for a seat in the back.
Then he saw him…
A person sitting alone, near the window, his head slightly tilted to the side as if the world didn’t matter to him.
Nani didn’t want to start a conversation despite the strange feeling that drew him toward the boy sitting beside him.
He tried to ignore it, opened a blank notebook in front of him, and started drawing meaningless intersecting lines. His hand moved on its own, but from time to time, his eyes stole a glance toward the other.
The boy didn’t move.
He didn’t greet him, didn’t seem interested in Nani or anyone else, but he was not oblivious.
Nani bit the tip of his pen, then looked back at his notebook. Why did he feel this anxiety? And why with this particular boy?
As for Sky, he closed his eyes again, but inside, he was not silent. It was a complete scream.
Why are you here? We weren’t supposed to meet again...
