There I sat beside her in Maths class, our last ever lesson together, legs brushing. She was laughing with her friends. I could see the dimples on her face and couldn't help but wonder how beautiful she is. Her eyes lit up every time she smiled—messy, dramatic, and completely effortless.
"You okay?" Kelly asked, her eyes narrowing playfully as she caught me staring.
"Yeah, I'm good," I replied, trying to play it cool. "Just lost in thought."
"What could possibly have you daydreaming in class?" she teased, cocking her head.
How could I bear to tell her that it was her I was thinking about? That the thought of this being the last time we’d sit like this—side by side, with her laughter filling the silence between equations—was already tearing something inside me? But I knew better. She didn’t feel the same. Never had.
Wouldn’t that just make me a fool?
"I'm just thinking about how this is our last day, and how I'll miss you," I said hastily, hoping the truth would hide somewhere inside the half-truth.
She paused for a moment, the smile softening. “That’s actually kinda sweet, Joel.”
Before I could say anything more, Minahil turned in her seat, arms folded, giving us both the look. “Can you guys focus in class? All you two ever do is flirt around.”
Kelly burst out laughing, that loud, contagious laugh that made people turn around. I laughed too, but mine was quieter—more bittersweet.
From across the room, I caught Fortune glancing in our direction. He didn’t look jealous or annoyed. Just… tired. Like he’d been carrying something around for way too long. I knew what it was. He liked her. Probably loved her. He just never said anything.
And I wasn’t sure if I was braver than him or just stupider.
Aysha, sitting two rows back, leaned over and whispered something to Minahil that made them both giggle. I didn’t hear what it was, but I knew it was about us. People always talked like we were a thing. But we weren’t. Not really. We were just... almost.
I turned back to Kelly. She was scribbling something in her notebook now, tongue between her teeth, focused like the world wasn’t falling apart around us. Like this wasn’t the end of something we never named.
I wondered if she’d even remember this day. If ten years from now, someone would say my name and she’d smile. Or if I’d just be another blurry face in an old classroom memory.
“Hey,” she whispered suddenly, breaking my thoughts again. “You’ll miss me?”
I looked at her. “More than I should.”
