Unknown Variables

Chapter 2: Letters Without a Name

The third letter arrived a week later.

Same paper. Same soft cursive. This time, it was tucked inside my math textbook, slipped between the pages like it had always belonged there.

"You look peaceful when you're solving problems. I wish I could talk to you... but I get too nervous. So I'll just watch from here."

My fingers trembled a little.

Someone was watching me. Someone who saw more than the equations. But the worst part? I liked that someone was watching.

I carried that letter with me the rest of the day. Hidden in my back pocket like a secret no one else deserved to know.

In the classroom, I sat beside Ryota and Hayato—my usual crew. We mostly talked about games and which snack place had the best karaage. They had no idea about the letters. And I wasn't about to tell them.

Across the room sat Hana.

Long hair, perfect posture, perfect uniform. Even when she wasn't trying, she looked like a magazine cover. She was talking to two other guys, laughing. The kind of laugh that made heads turn.

Everyone liked her.

Of course they did. She was Hana Sakamoto.
Top of the class. School tennis ace. Gorgeous without makeup.
And my neighbor since I was three.

My mom always used to say, "Why can't you be more like Hana-chan?"

And Hana always said, "Why can't you stop being so weird?"

We used to bike to school together, walk our dogs together, even shared a mini trampoline once. We were like siblings. At least, that's how I saw it.

But lately... something had changed. She looked at me longer. Said weird things under her breath. Like when I got the gold medal and she muttered:

"Took you long enough to show off."

Then turned red and ran off.

Whatever. Hana was Hana. Gorgeous and perfect and... so normal in my eyes.

Later that afternoon, I stayed back for math club. No one else came that day. I didn't mind. I liked the silence.

As I packed my stuff, I found a fourth letter in my pencil case.

"You don't see it, but the way you make people feel safe... it matters. Maybe one day I'll have the courage to say that out loud."

I stared at the paper for a full minute, heart thudding like it didn't belong in my chest.

Then Ryota appeared at the door. "Yo! You coming to cram class next week?"

"Yeah," I said, slipping the note into my bag. "I already signed up for the summer lessons."

He gave me a knowing grin. "Nerd."

I shrugged. "Guess that makes two of us."

And that's where it started.

Summer School.

Not the most romantic place in the world. A drafty prep center in the city, faded posters on the walls, and vending machines that never worked.

But that's where I saw her.

The girl who would change everything.