Unwritten Notes

♡ A Little Too Obvious ♡

She glared at them every single time.
“I don’t even like him. We just talked once.”

Rhea raised an eyebrow. “Yes. And that one time was enough for you to think about him for a week.”

“I didn’t think about him!”

“You said his smile was cute.”

“I DID NOT—” She paused. “…Okay maybe once. BUT ONLY ONCE.”

They exchanged the most dramatic ‘we know the truth’ glance ever.

And the universe — as always — wasn’t done with her yet.

It was a Friday morning, the kind of morning where everything felt rushed. Their class teacher had asked them to bring their notebooks to the staff room for checking, and she and Rhea had volunteered. Mostly because they needed to ask a doubt before the test.

Arms full of notebooks, they began running down the long corridor.

“Ma’am is going to leave!” Rhea yelled.

“She just came!” she protested breathlessly.

They reached the turn near the staircase — a sharp left — and she took it too quickly.

Bang.

It wasn’t a gentle bump.

It was a full-on crash, shoulder-first, notebooks falling like a mini explosion.

She fell straight on her butt.

“Ow— ow— owww,” she hissed, eyes squeezing shut from embarrassment and pain.

When she opened them…
he was standing there.

Him.

Holding two fallen notebooks, eyebrows raised, mouth parting slightly in surprise.

“Oh— you okay?” he asked, stepping toward her.

Her brain went completely blank.

Rhea, of course, was having the time of her life. She covered her mouth to keep from squealing.

He bent down slightly, offering his hand. “Here. Let me help.”

Her heart thudded so loudly she was sure the entire corridor heard it. She placed her hand in his, very lightly, like she was afraid she would accidentally electrocute him. He pulled her up effortlessly.

The moment she stood straight, she whispered, “Sorry… I should’ve watched where I was going.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry. I should’ve moved faster.”

She blinked. “You were literally just walking…”

He laughed softly. “Still.”

And there went her heart again.

Rhea cleared her throat loudly.
“Thank youuu for helping her,” she said, dragging the last word in a way that made the girl want to disappear, relocate, change her name, and start a new life somewhere else.

He looked between the two and smiled. “No problem. Are you guys in a hurry? You dropped half your notebooks.”

“YES— I mean— we’re okay,” she said, picking them up hurriedly.

When they walked away, Rhea didn’t even wait five seconds.

“Oh. My. God.”

“Don’t.”

“Ohhh myyyy goddddd.”

“Stop.”

“He looked at you like— like— he REMEMBERED you! Didn’t you see? Didn’t you FEEL IT?”

She covered her burning face with both hands. “Please let me have some dignity left.”

Rhea cackled.
“You lost that the moment you fell on your butt in front of him.”

A week later, fate decided it wasn’t done torturing her.

She was walking out of the library, hugging a stack of books. Rhea was beside her, narrating some dramatic story about the cafeteria aunty. The hallway was quiet, the sun falling through the window frames.

And then — again — he appeared from the opposite side, turning the corner at the exact same moment.

Both of them stopped abruptly.

So abruptly that they were this close to crashing once again.

She gasped and stepped back, dropping one book.

He caught it mid-air.

“Careful. We really need to stop meeting like this,” he joked.

Her ears turned red instantly.

Rhea smirked so wide it looked illegal.
“Wow… déjà vu much?”

He handed her the book, eyes gentle. “You okay? Didn’t get scared, right?”

“N-no. I just— didn’t see you.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t really paying attention either.”

Why did he sound so… soft?

She muttered a tiny thank you and hurried away, pulling Rhea along.

The moment they turned the corner, Rhea exploded.

“HA! HA! HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO PRETEND YOU DON’T LIKE HIM?”

“I DON’T!”

“He literally SMILED at you.”

“He smiles at everyone!”

“No, bestie, he smiles politely at everyone. With you he smiled like this—”
Rhea attempted a ridiculous soft-eyed smile.
“SEE? SEE?”

She groaned. “You’re insane.”

“And you...,” Rhea said, flipping her hair, “are in denial.”

Over the next few days, she tried her best to act normal. She stopped looking outside the classroom. She stopped reacting when her friends teased her. She convinced herself it was nothing — just a crush, just a coincidence, just imagination.

But sometimes, when she passed his classroom, he looked up and their eyes met for a second longer than necessary.

Sometimes when her friends teased her, he overheard and smiled quietly before looking away.

And once, when she was walking alone to the library, he waved at her.

A small wave.
Just like the first one.

Her heart didn’t listen to logic after that.

Maybe it was nothing.
Maybe it would never become anything.
Maybe it was just a cute crush.

But the way her cheeks warmed every time his name was mentioned…

The way he looked at her during their corridor moments…

The way he always remembered her…

It felt like something.

Something small.
Something soft.
Something sweet.

A beginning, maybe.

Or at least —
the kind of story she’d remember for a long, long time.