The Surprise
417 Words
By the time I got to school, my legs were already burning.
Each step felt heavier than the last, my breath uneven from the ride.
I parked my bike quickly, barely securing it before rushing into the hallway—pretending not to notice the stares that followed me in.
I was late.
Very late.
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And Mrs. Diane—our Chemistry teacher—was not the kind of person who let things slide.
Especially not on the day of an assessment test.
Missing it wasn’t an option.
Not for me.
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I’m a scholarship kid.
One mistake—
One slip—
And everything could come crashing down.
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I tightened my grip on my bag, already bracing myself for the lecture waiting for me as I hurried down the corridor—
“Ellise.”
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I stopped.
Not immediately.
But enough for it to matter.
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Slowly, I turned.
Martins.
Of course it was him.
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He stood there like he belonged everywhere at once—calm, composed, completely untouched by the chaos of the morning.
Like time moved differently around him.
Like he had the luxury of not rushing.
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Which only made me more aware of how rushed I looked.
How out of place I felt.
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Then he said it.
“Will you be my Val?”
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For a second, the words didn’t register.
They just… hovered.
Unreal.
Out of context.
Wrong.
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So I did the only reasonable thing—
I kept walking.
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Because there was no way—
No way—
He was talking to me.
Right?
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A soft sound came from behind me.
A quiet, almost amused exhale.
Then—
“Ellise.”
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I froze.
This time, completely.
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“Would you do me the honour of being my Val?”
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My name.
He said my name.
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Slowly, I turned back to face him.
My heartbeat felt louder now.
Too loud.
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There was no one else around me.
No other Ellise.
No one to hide behind.
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Just… me.
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For a split second, something flickered across his face.
Quick.
Sharp.
Gone before I could fully catch it.
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Disgust?
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The thought came uninvited.
Unwanted.
And just as quickly, I pushed it away.
Because maybe I imagined it.
I had to have.
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Because the way he was looking at me now—
Steady.
Focused.
Intent—
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He looked sincere.
Too sincere.
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And that was the most confusing part of all.
- Writer
