Chapter 3: Corners We Pretend Not To See.
893 Words
The next morning felt too bright for the thoughts I had gone to bed with. For a second, I let myself think about him—the way his eyes met mine in class, and how something shifted before I could stop it. I didn’t like that.
So I brushed it off, like I always do.
I got dressed, fixed my hair, adjusted my uniform, and reminded myself who I was supposed to be.
By the time I got to school, the courtyard was already loud. Chloe and Riley stood near the lockers, talking like they owned the space.
“You’re late,” Chloe said, adjusting her ponytail.
Riley smirked. “Probably choosing which designer bag to bring today.”
I smiled. “Please, like I’d bring the same one twice.”
The lie came out easily.
We walked into class, and I noticed her again—the quiet girl who transferred earlier in the week. Summer. She sat in front of Ethan, head down, pretending not to hear the whispers around her.
I looked away. It wasn’t my business.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
During break, we ended up at the far corner of the building, the one teachers rarely passed. Chloe leaned against the wall, eyes already on Summer as she walked by.
“Summer, right?” she called. “That skirt is… something.”
Riley laughed. “If ‘something’ means wrinkled.”
Summer stopped. Slowly.
“It’s just a uniform,” she said quietly.
Chloe stepped closer. “Not all of us can afford to look decent.”
I should have stayed out of it.
Instead, I crossed my arms. “At least iron it properly.”
The words didn’t sit right, but I didn’t take them back.
Summer’s eyes glossed over, not enough to cry, just enough to show she heard.
Then a voice cut in.
“Back off.”
Ethan stood there, hands in his pockets, calm but firm. His boots were slightly muddy from the rain, his jacket still damp.
He looked at Summer first. “You good?”
She nodded.
Riley rolled her eyes. “Why do you even care?”
“Because it’s unnecessary,” he said. “If you’re bored, find something else to do.”
Chloe scoffed. “We were joking.”
“Did she look like she was laughing?”
That shut everything down.
I forced a shrug. “Relax. It wasn’t that deep.”
Then he looked at me.
Not curious. Not impressed.
Just disappointed.
For a second, something in me shifted. He didn’t know anything about me, didn’t know what it took to keep everything together, to keep people from asking questions I couldn’t answer.
Still, I hated that look.
“Whatever,” I muttered. “Let’s go.”
We walked off first, but it didn’t feel like winning.
The rest of the day dragged. Summer didn’t turn around once. Ethan barely spoke, but his presence stayed there, quiet and constant. I tried focusing on my notes, but it didn’t work.
After school, I saw them near the gates. I wasn’t trying to listen, but I slowed down anyway.
“She’s not always like that,” Summer was saying.
“Like what?” Ethan asked.
“Mean. I think… there’s more to her.”
I walked past them before I could hear more, like I hadn’t heard anything at all.
Why would she say that?
The ride home was quiet. I scrolled through the pictures I had posted earlier. Likes kept coming in under photos that looked perfect.
Luxury stores. Clean mirrors. Expensive bags.
None of it was mine.
When the car stopped two streets away, I stepped out and handed the driver the envelope. “Same time tomorrow.”
He nodded and drove off.
I waited until he disappeared before walking the rest of the way. The difference was always obvious—cracked pavement, smaller houses, nothing polished. Just real.
“I’m home,” I called as I stepped inside.
“Welcome back!” my mom replied from the kitchen.
Dad glanced up. “How was school?”
“Fine. Normal.”
I went to my room before they could ask more.
The space was simple. Plain walls. No pretending.
I stood in front of the mirror.
Why did his opinion matter?
Why was that look still in my head?
I sat on my bed, replaying it—the corner, Summer’s face, his voice. He didn’t raise it, didn’t try to impress anyone. He just stepped in like it was normal.
No one had ever done that for me.
A knock came.
“Maddie?”
“Come in.”
My little sister walked in and climbed onto the bed. “Dinner’s ready. Mom said if you don’t come now, she’ll finish the chicken.”
I smiled. “She wouldn’t dare.”
She squinted at me. “Why do you look like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re thinking too much.”
“I’m fine.”
She nodded and left.
I looked at myself one more time.
At school, I knew exactly who I was supposed to be.
At home, it was easier.
And somewhere in between, there was a boy who didn’t fit into either world but still managed to shake both.
I didn’t understand why that bothered me.
But I knew it would.
- Writer
