The New Transfer
POV: Elena
Sunshine has always been a choice for me. Not the forced kind. Not the kind people tell you to fake until it becomes real. I mean the quiet kind, where you wake up and decide you are going to try, even if nothing special is waiting for you.
I was retying my left sneaker for the third time when I shut my locker, turned, and almost ran straight into him.
“Oh sorry,” I said, already stepping aside.
He did not answer.
At first, I thought he had not heard me. The hallway was loud and crowded, everyone rushing somewhere. But when I looked up, he was staring at me like he had not expected to see me, like I had startled him. Then his eyes flicked away.
“Sorry,” he muttered, walking past me with tight shoulders.
I stood there for a second longer than I needed to. That was strange. I shook it off and headed to class, but the feeling stayed with me, like forgetting something at home and spending the rest of the day trying to remember what it was.
Mrs. Calder was already at the front of the room when I slid into my seat.
“Good morning,” she said. “We have a new student joining us today. His name is Rowan.”
The door opened.
My stomach dropped. It was the boy from the hallway.
Rowan stood in the doorway like he did not want to be there. His hands were shoved into his hoodie pockets, his shoulders slightly hunched. He looked down at the floor, then up, and his eyes landed on me for just a second. Something crossed his face. I could not tell what it was. Fear, maybe. Or nerves. Then it was gone.
“You can take the open seat in the back,” Mrs. Calder said.
Rowan nodded and moved down the aisle carefully, like he was paying attention to every step. He sat behind me, the chair scraping softly against the floor.
I told myself not to turn around. I did anyway.
“Hi,” I whispered.
He froze before looking up. Up close, his eyes were an odd color, not quite brown and not quite green. They reminded me of the lake near my grandma’s house when the sun starts to go down.
“Hi,” he said quietly.
No smile. No extra words.
I turned back around, my heart beating faster than it should have.
By lunch, everyone had something to say about Rowan. I sat with my friends, picking at my fries and pretending not to watch him. He sat alone at the end of a table, his notebook closed, his hands folded like he was waiting for something to happen.
Every time I glanced over, his eyes lifted. Every time, they landed on me.
When the bell rang and people started to leave, I stood and slung my bag over my shoulder. As I passed his table, I slowed.
“Hey,” I said. “If you need help finding your way around, I know the school pretty well.”
He looked surprised, like he had not expected anyone to talk to him. Then he nodded.
“Yeah,” he said. “Thanks.”
Our eyes met for a second longer than necessary. I had the strange feeling that this was not really the beginning of something. It felt more like coming back to a place I had been before, even if I could not remember when.
