Chapter 3 — A Face from the Past
1596 Words
The bus was crowded.
Ethan stood near the back, one hand wrapped around the overhead rail while his other hand held the strap of his backpack. His headphones played softly as he stared through the window.
The city passed by in familiar pieces.
Stores closing for the evening. Motorcycles weaving through traffic. Tricycles stopping to pick up passengers. People walking home from work.
A group of children played basketball on a small concrete court. Nearby, an old man pushed a vegetable cart along the side of the road.
Nothing unusual.
And Ethan liked that.
After everything that had happened lately, he wanted things to be normal.
School.
The bus ride home.
The ten-minute walk to his house.
Dinner.
Homework.
Sleep.
No trouble.
No surprises.
When the bus finally reached his stop, Ethan stepped down and adjusted his backpack.
It was already past five.
He started walking home.
A few minutes later, he noticed an elderly woman standing beside the road. She looked to be in her late sixties or early seventies. Her silver hair was tied loosely behind her head, and she wore a floral blouse underneath a faded cardigan.
A woven basket hung from her arm.
Then the basket slipped.
Several tomatoes and vegetables rolled across the pavement.
Ethan immediately crossed the street.
“Ma’am, let me help you.”
He crouched down and began collecting the vegetables before they could be stepped on.
“Oh, thank you,” the woman said.
Ethan picked up the last tomato and placed it inside the basket.
“You're a good boy.”
He smiled awkwardly.
“It's okay.”
The woman looked at him for a moment.
“You remind me of my son.”
Ethan looked up.
“He used to help everyone too.”
There was something sad in her voice.
Ethan handed her the basket.
“I hope you see him again.”
The woman smiled faintly.
“I hope so too.”
Ethan nodded and continued walking.
He didn't think much about the encounter.
To him, it had been nothing more than helping someone who needed it.
But sometimes, small moments revealed more about a person than they realized.
By the time Ethan reached home, the sky had begun turning orange.
Their modest two-story house sat in a quiet residential neighborhood. A few lights were already coming on in the nearby houses.
Ethan opened the front door.
“I'm home.”
His mother looked over from the kitchen.
“You're home early.”
“It's already past five.”
She laughed.
“I meant you weren't later than usual.”
Ethan dropped his backpack beside the stairs.
“How was school?”
“Fine.”
“And the bus?”
“Crowded.”
“So, a normal day?”
“Pretty much.”
His mother smiled.
Ethan didn't tell her about Derek.
He didn't mention Lex.
He didn't mention how uncomfortable he had felt during P.E.
He wasn't sure why he kept those things to himself.
Maybe he simply didn't want to bring more problems into the house.
Dinner was quiet.
His mother asked about his math class and whether he had finished his homework.
Then she asked the question she always seemed to ask.
“Are you making any friends?”
Ethan shrugged.
“Not really.”
“You will.”
“Maybe.”
His mother smiled.
“Give it time.”
Ethan nodded.
After dinner, he went upstairs.
His bedroom was exactly how he liked it.
Books were arranged neatly on the shelf. Textbooks were stacked on one side of his desk, and notebooks were organized beside them.
He sat down and studied.
For a while, the world disappeared.
No Derek.
No strange incidents.
No questions about his father.
Just a book, a pencil, and the quiet sound of pages turning.
Eventually, Ethan closed the book.
Another normal day.
I guess that's good.
But somehow, it didn't feel like it.
---
The next morning, Ethan's alarm rang at six.
He got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.
His mother watched him eat.
“Slow down.”
“I’m fine.”
“You're going to choke.”
Ethan slowed down.
His mother smiled.
“You always eat like someone is going to take your food.”
Ethan laughed quietly.
When he finished, he grabbed his backpack.
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
He stepped outside.
Eastwood High School was already crowded when Ethan arrived.
Students filled the hallways, talking loudly as they moved toward their classrooms.
During math class, Mr. Carter stood at the front of the room writing an equation on the board.
“All right, everyone,” he said. “Before we begin, we have a new student.”
The classroom door opened.
A girl stepped inside.
Ethan froze.
It was her.
The girl from yesterday.
Lexi Ramirez.
She wore the school uniform neatly, her appearance polished but relaxed. Unlike Ethan, she seemed completely comfortable walking into a classroom full of strangers.
“This is Lexi,” Mr. Carter said. “She recently transferred here.”
“Hi, everyone.”
Several students greeted her.
Mr. Carter pointed toward the empty seats.
“Take whichever one you want.”
Lexi looked around the room.
Then her eyes landed on Ethan.
She smiled.
“Is this seat taken?”
Ethan glanced at the empty desk beside him.
“No.”
“Good.”
She sat down.
“Hi again.”
“Hi.”
“I knew I'd seen you somewhere.”
“Yesterday.”
“Right. The books.”
Ethan nodded.
“You helped me pick them up.”
“You were carrying a lot.”
Lex smiled.
“You remembered.”
Before Ethan could answer, Mr. Carter started the lesson.
Ethan tried to concentrate.
He really did.
But with Lex sitting beside him, focusing suddenly became much harder.
At lunch, several students invited Lex to sit with them.
She thanked them, but then noticed Ethan sitting alone.
“Ethan!”
He looked up.
“Come eat with us.”
“I'm okay.”
“That wasn't a yes or no.”
Before he could respond, Lex walked over, grabbed his arm, and pulled him out of his seat.
“Come on.”
Ethan barely had time to react.
Across the cafeteria, Derek noticed them.
His expression immediately changed.
At the table, Lex watched Ethan eat.
“You eat really fast.”
“I’m hungry.”
“You look like you're racing someone.”
A girl at the table laughed.
“He's always like that.”
Another student said, “He's probably hungry from studying all day.”
Lex looked at Ethan.
“Studying?”
“He's one of the top students here.”
Ethan lowered his eyes.
Lex smiled.
“Then I guess I was meant to sit beside you.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You can teach me.”
“I don't think I'm that good.”
“You're already better than me.”
Ethan didn't know how to respond.
A few minutes later, he stood.
“I have to go.”
Lex blinked.
“Already?”
“Yeah.”
He picked up his tray.
As Ethan walked away, Derek stuck out his foot.
Ethan didn't see it.
His shoe caught Derek's leg.
He fell hard.
His tray flew from his hands, and food scattered across the floor.
Laughter erupted around him.
Ethan pushed himself up, embarrassed.
Derek grinned.
“Watch where you're going.”
Lex stood.
“That wasn't funny.”
The laughter slowly died.
Derek looked at her.
“Stay out of it.”
Lex said nothing.
She simply stared at him.
For the first time, she understood.
Derek wasn't joking around with Ethan.
He was bullying him.
---
Lex couldn't stop thinking about Ethan after that.
He was quiet.
Smart.
Always carrying books.
He had helped her without hesitation when they first met.
And apparently, he was someone Derek enjoyed targeting.
Lex came from a wealthy family. Her parents had recently moved to the area, and her transfer to Eastwood High had happened suddenly.
She wasn't worried about making friends.
But Ethan was different.
After school, she noticed him walking alone toward the bus stop.
She watched as he climbed onto the bus.
Then it disappeared into traffic.
That evening, Ethan arrived home.
His mother asked about school.
“Fine.”
They had dinner.
Afterward, Ethan went upstairs.
He began putting his books away when something caught his attention.
A red notebook was tucked behind the others on his shelf.
He pulled it out.
His old childhood journal.
He opened it.
Inside were drawings, short stories, and little observations he had written when he was younger.
Ethan smiled.
Then something slipped from between the pages.
A photograph.
He picked it up.
And stopped.
The photograph showed a much younger Ethan standing beside his father.
His father's arm was around his shoulder.
Both of them were smiling.
Ethan stared at the picture.
His father's face.
His smile.
His laugh.
His voice.
The warmth of his hand on Ethan's shoulder.
Memories he hadn't allowed himself to think about in years suddenly came rushing back.
For the first time in a long time, Ethan smiled without forcing it.
Then he heard his mother's voice outside.
“Ethan?”
His smile disappeared.
He quickly held the photograph against his chest.
“Yeah?”
“I’m coming in.”
Ethan looked down at the photograph.
For the first time in years, his father's face felt close again.
And Ethan had no idea that finding that photograph would change everything.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD