Don't Ask Questions
906 Words
Zara barely slept that night.
Not because she was worried.
At least, that was what she kept telling herself.
She lay on her bed with her schoolwork spread around her, staring at the same page of notes for nearly twenty minutes.
Don't believe everything people tell you about me.
Jayden's words kept replaying in her head.
What was that supposed to mean?
Everyone knew things about Jayden. Some people said he was arrogant. Others said he was secretly one of the nicest people in school. There were even rumors that he had gotten into serious trouble the previous term.
Zara had never cared enough to find out which stories were true.
Now she wanted to know.
She finally closed her notebook.
“It's none of my business,” she whispered.
And that should have been the end of it.
It wasn't.The next morning, Zara arrived at school earlier than usual.
The hallway was unusually quiet. She walked toward her classroom, but stopped when she heard voices coming from around the corner.
She recognized one of them immediately.
Jayden.
“I'm not talking about this here,” he said.
His voice sounded different.
No jokes.
No confidence.
Just irritation.
Another boy said something too quietly for Zara to hear.
Then Jayden replied, “I said I'll handle it.”
Zara stepped backward before they could notice her.
She hurried into the classroom and sat down.
A few minutes later, Jayden entered.
His expression was completely normal.
He greeted his friends, laughed at something someone said, and took his seat as if nothing had happened.
Zara watched him from across the room.
What are you hiding?
“Zara.”She looked up.
Amie was standing beside her desk.
“You've been staring at him for like five minutes.”
“I haven't.”
“You have.”
“I was thinking.”
“About him?”
“No.”
Amie smiled. “Sure.”
Before Zara could answer, the teacher walked in.
The class settled down.
Halfway through the lesson, the teacher announced a group assignment.
“I'm choosing the groups,” she said.
Immediately, the classroom filled with complaints.
Zara didn't care who she worked with, as long as they actually did the assignment.
Then the teacher started reading the names.
“Amie, David, Samuel…”
Zara waited.
“Zara and Jayden.”
Her head lifted.Across the room, Jayden looked at her.
Amie slowly turned toward Zara with the biggest grin imaginable.
Zara mouthed, Don't.
Amie laughed quietly.
After class, Jayden approached her desk.
“So…”
Zara looked up.
“Looks like we're partners.”
“Apparently.”
“When are you free to work on it?”
“After school.”
“Library?”
Zara nodded.
“Okay.”
He walked away.
Amie immediately appeared beside her.
“You're going to the library with Jayden.”
“It's for an assignment.”
“I know.”
“Then stop smiling.”
“I can't.”
Zara shook her head.
By the time school ended, most students had already left.Zara sat in the library with her laptop open while Jayden searched through a textbook.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
It wasn't awkward.
Just quiet.
Eventually, Jayden looked up.
“You're really serious about school.”
Zara shrugged. “Someone has to be.”
He smiled.
“I heard you're one of the smartest students in the class.”
“Who told you?”
“You'd be surprised what people say.”
Zara studied him.
“You listen to what people say about you?”
“Sometimes.”
“And?”
“And most of it is wrong.”
She remembered what he'd said the previous day.
“Then why don't you correct them?”
Jayden stopped turning the pages.
“Because sometimes it's easier to let people believe what they want.”
Zara frowned.“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will eventually.”
Before she could ask another question, his phone vibrated.
Again.
Jayden checked the screen.
His expression changed.
He stood.
“I'll be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
“Just outside.”
He walked away quickly.
Zara tried to focus on the assignment.
She lasted approximately thirty seconds.
Then she heard voices outside the library.
She couldn't make out the words, but Jayden sounded angry.
Zara stood and moved closer to the door.
Then she heard one sentence clearly.
“You promised nobody at school would find out.”
Zara froze.A moment later, the voices stopped.
Jayden returned to the library.
His eyes met hers.
For a second, neither of them spoke.
“You heard that?” he asked.
Zara nodded.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“That wasn't nothing.”
Jayden looked away.
“Zara, please.”
The seriousness in his voice made her stop.
“Please don't ask me about it.”
She stared at him.
He looked genuinely worried.
So she nodded.
“Okay.”
Jayden sat back down.
But Zara knew something had changed.
She didn't know what secret he was hiding.
She didn't know who the person outside had been.
And she definitely didn't know why someone was so determined to keep the truth from getting out.
But one thing was becoming clear.
Jayden wasn't simply the popular boy everyone thought he was.
There was a story behind his silence.
And somehow, Zara had just stepped into it.
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