Behind Closed Doors
2882 Words
The first thing I noticed the next morning was that Adrian wasn't at school. I hadn't expected myself to notice at all. As i walked through the front gates of Westbridge Academy, the usual crowd surrounded the entrance. Students laughed, compared homework, and complained about the surprise math quiz waiting for them. Everything looked quite normal. Except Adrian's parking space. It was empty.
I told myself i didn't care,because I really didn't. After all, people missed school every day, Why should this be any different? I pushed the thought aside and headed for my locker.
"Morning, Maya."
I turned to see Emma Lawson approaching with an easy smile.
Emma wasn't exactly my best friend, but she was one of the few people i could tolerate. We had shared classes since freshman year, and unlike most students, Emma never asked uncomfortable questions.
"Morning."
Emma leaned against the locker beside hers.
"So... how's your favorite project partner?"
I shut my locker and replied
"I don't have a favorite."
"You know who I mean."
"I do."
"And?"
"He's still annoying."
Emma laughed.
"I heard you two spent almost two hours in the library yesterday."
I looked at her.
"The school has a gossip problem."
"It has an Adrian problem."
"That too."
Emma lowered her voice.
"So... is it true?"
"What?"
"That he actually did work."
I paused. I remembered the way he'd quietly read through the chapters, making notes without a single complaint after explaining why he'd been late.
"Yes."
Emma blinked.
"Seriously?"
"He surprised me."
"Now that's something I never thought I'd hear."
Neither had i.
---
By lunchtime, Adrian still hadn't shown up. For reasons i refused to acknowledge, I found herself glancing toward the cafeteria entrance more than once,each time, someone else walked in. Never him.
"You keep looking at the door."
Emma's voice snapped me back to reality.
"I do not."
"You've looked over there four times."
"I was checking the time."
"The clock is behind you."
I sighed.
"I hate when you're observant."
Emma grinned.
"I know."
Just then, a familiar voice echoed through the cafeteria.
"Move!"
Several students turned as one of the basketball players rushed inside, nearly colliding with a table.
"Dude, did you hear?" another boy asked.
"Hear what?"
"Blackwood's grandmother is in the hospital."
The conversation spread quickly. Within minutes, almost everyone seemed to know. Some sounded genuinely concerned. Others were simply eager for new gossip. I quietly closed my lunchbox.
I suddenly remembered Adrian's tired eyes from yesterday. He hadn't been lying. Not that I would ever admit I had doubted him.
---
Classes ended earlier than usual because several teachers had meetings. Most students rushed home. I headed toward the library out of habit. I wasn't expecting Adrian to be there. Mrs. Williams had already emailed me, saying the meeting was optional because of Adrian's family emergency.
Still...
I walked through the library doors anyway. I chose the same table they had used yesterday. The chair opposite me remained empty, I starred at it for a while before I opened the project folder and began organizing our notes.
An hour passed.
By the time I finished, i had divided the workload into sections and written a schedule for the next three weeks. Satisfied, i slipped everything neatly into a folder. As i stood up to leave, something caught my eye.
A black notebook lay forgotten beneath the chair across from mine. I frowned. It definitely hadn't been there when I had arrived.
Picking it up, I noticed a small set of silver initials embossed on the cover.
A.B.
Adrian Blackwood.
I hesitated. Returning it tomorrow would be easy.
But curiosity tugged at me. I really shouldn't.
Yet before i could stop muself, i opened the notebook.
The first few pages were filled with neat handwriting.
Nothing unusual.
Project notes. Quotes from books. Random calculations. Then I turned another page. My breath caught. The writing changed. The confident, almost playful handwriting i'd seen in class gave way to something messier.
"No matter what I achieve, Dad always wants more."
Below it, another sentence.
"Sometimes I wonder if he'd notice if I disappeared for a week."
I stared at the page.
This wasn't the Adrian Blackwood everyone knew.
This wasn't the arrogant boy who smiled through every conversation.
This was someone else entirely.
Someone... lonely.
Before i could read another word, the library doors opened.
"Maya?"
I looked up sharply.
Adrian stood at the entrance. His school bag hung from one shoulder, and dark circles rested beneath his eyes. Then his gaze dropped to the notebook in my hands. His expression changed instantly. The warmth disappeared. His jaw tightened.
"You read it."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
And for the first time since we met... I had absolutely no idea what to say.
The first thing I noticed the next morning was that Adrian wasn't at school. I hadn't expected myself to notice at all. As i walked through the front gates of Westbridge Academy, the usual crowd surrounded the entrance. Students laughed, compared homework, and complained about the surprise math quiz waiting for them. Everything looked quite normal. Except Adrian's parking space. It was empty.
I told myself i didn't care,because I really didn't. After all, people missed school every day, Why should this be any different? I pushed the thought aside and headed for my locker.
"Morning, Maya."
I turned to see Emma Lawson approaching with an easy smile.
Emma wasn't exactly my best friend, but she was one of the few people i could tolerate. We had shared classes since freshman year, and unlike most students, Emma never asked uncomfortable questions.
"Morning."
Emma leaned against the locker beside hers.
"So... how's your favorite project partner?"
I shut my locker and replied
"I don't have a favorite."
"You know who I mean."
"I do."
"And?"
"He's still annoying."
Emma laughed.
"I heard you two spent almost two hours in the library yesterday."
I looked at her.
"The school has a gossip problem."
"It has an Adrian problem."
"That too."
Emma lowered her voice.
"So... is it true?"
"What?"
"That he actually did work."
I paused. I remembered the way he'd quietly read through the chapters, making notes without a single complaint after explaining why he'd been late.
"Yes."
Emma blinked.
"Seriously?"
"He surprised me."
"Now that's something I never thought I'd hear."
Neither had i.
---
By lunchtime, Adrian still hadn't shown up. For reasons i refused to acknowledge, I found herself glancing toward the cafeteria entrance more than once,each time, someone else walked in. Never him.
"You keep looking at the door."
Emma's voice snapped me back to reality.
"I do not."
"You've looked over there four times."
"I was checking the time."
"The clock is behind you."
I sighed.
"I hate when you're observant."
Emma grinned.
"I know."
Just then, a familiar voice echoed through the cafeteria.
"Move!"
Several students turned as one of the basketball players rushed inside, nearly colliding with a table.
"Dude, did you hear?" another boy asked.
"Hear what?"
"Blackwood's grandmother is in the hospital."
The conversation spread quickly. Within minutes, almost everyone seemed to know. Some sounded genuinely concerned. Others were simply eager for new gossip. I quietly closed my lunchbox.
I suddenly remembered Adrian's tired eyes from yesterday. He hadn't been lying. Not that I would ever admit I had doubted him.
---
Classes ended earlier than usual because several teachers had meetings. Most students rushed home. I headed toward the library out of habit. I wasn't expecting Adrian to be there. Mrs. Williams had already emailed me, saying the meeting was optional because of Adrian's family emergency.
Still...
I walked through the library doors anyway. I chose the same table they had used yesterday. The chair opposite me remained empty, I starred at it for a while before I opened the project folder and began organizing our notes.
An hour passed.
By the time I finished, i had divided the workload into sections and written a schedule for the next three weeks. Satisfied, i slipped everything neatly into a folder. As i stood up to leave, something caught my eye.
A black notebook lay forgotten beneath the chair across from mine. I frowned. It definitely hadn't been there when I had arrived.
Picking it up, I noticed a small set of silver initials embossed on the cover.
A.B.
Adrian Blackwood.
I hesitated. Returning it tomorrow would be easy.
But curiosity tugged at me. I really shouldn't.
Yet before i could stop muself, i opened the notebook.
The first few pages were filled with neat handwriting.
Nothing unusual.
Project notes. Quotes from books. Random calculations. Then I turned another page. My breath caught. The writing changed. The confident, almost playful handwriting i'd seen in class gave way to something messier.
"No matter what I achieve, Dad always wants more."
Below it, another sentence.
"Sometimes I wonder if he'd notice if I disappeared for a week."
I stared at the page.
This wasn't the Adrian Blackwood everyone knew.
This wasn't the arrogant boy who smiled through every conversation.
This was someone else entirely.
Someone... lonely.
Before i could read another word, the library doors opened.
"Maya?"
I looked up sharply.
Adrian stood at the entrance. His school bag hung from one shoulder, and dark circles rested beneath his eyes. Then his gaze dropped to the notebook in my hands. His expression changed instantly. The warmth disappeared. His jaw tightened.
"You read it."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
And for the first time since we met... I had absolutely no idea what to say.
Chapter Three
Things Better Left Unread
My fingers tightened around the notebook. For a moment, neither of us moved. The library, usually filled with the soft rustle of pages turning and keyboards clicking, suddenly felt painfully silent.
"I can explain," I said quietly.
Adrian's expression remained unreadable.
"Can you?"
I swallowed.
"I wasn't trying to invade your privacy."
"No?" His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it I hadn't heard before. "Then why is my notebook open?"
I looked down at the page i'd been staring at only seconds earlier.
"I found it under the chair."
"And instead of returning it, you decided to read it."
His words weren't loud. If anything, that made them hurt more. I closed the notebook immediately.
"You're right."
That seemed to catch him off guard. I stepped toward him and held it out.
"I shouldn't have opened it."
Adrian didn't take it.
Instead, he searched my face as if trying to figure out whether I genuinely meant it. Most people would've made excuses. Most people would've blamed curiosity. I didn't. I simply admitted I had been wrong.
After a long silence, Adrian reached out and took the notebook.
"How much did you read?"
"One page."
His shoulders relaxed, though only slightly.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
"I know."
Another silence settled between us. I adjusted the strap of my backpack.
"I'll leave."
I turned toward the exit.
"Maya."
I stopped but didn't look back.
"I'm sorry."
My eyebrows knitted together in surprise.
"For what?"
"For snapping at you."
I slowly turned around.
"You had every right to."
"No."
He looked down at the notebook in his hands.
"I've just... had a rough couple of days."
The confidence he'd worn since the day we met was gone. His voice sounded quieter. Almost tired. I wasn't used to seeing him like this. The Adrian everyone talked about was always smiling,and always joking. Always acting like nothing in the world could touch him. The boy standing in front of me looked nothing like that.
"How's your grandmother?" I asked.
A faint smile crossed his lips.
"She's better."
"I'm glad."
"I spent the night at the hospital."
"You should've stayed home today."
He shrugged.
"My dad insisted I come."
There was something about the way he said it that made me pause. Not angry ,not sad. Just... resigned. As if doing what his father wanted wasn't unusual.
"I'm sorry," I said again.
"This time for assuming you skipped the meeting because you didn't care."
Adrian looked at me for a few seconds.
"You apologized twice in one conversation."
"Don't get used to it."
A small laugh escaped him.
"There you are."
"What?"
"The girl who insults me every five minutes."
"I don't insult you."
"You definitely do."
"I tell the truth."
"That's even worse."
For the first time since entering the library, the tension eased.
Neither of us noticed Mrs. Dawson watching from behind the circulation desk. She smiled to herself before quietly returning to shelving books. Maybe, just maybe, those two were making progress.
We ended up staying in the library until almost five o'clock.
Most of the work was done in silence. I highlighted important passages while Adrian summarized chapters in surprisingly neat handwriting. I hated to admit it, but he was good. Not just good. Thoughtful. Whenever he analyzed a character, he noticed details i had overlooked.
"You missed something," he said, sliding the book toward me.
I frowned.
"I don't think so."
"The main character lies in Chapter Four."
"He doesn't."
"He does."
"No, he—"
Adrian flipped to the page and pointed at a single sentence.
I read it twice. Then a third time.
"...I hate that you're right."
His grin returned.
"I was waiting for you to say it."
"I wasn't complimenting you."
"Sure you weren't."
I rolled my eyes, but a smile threatened to appear. I looked away before he could notice. Outside, rain began tapping softly against the library windows. Within minutes, it became a downpour. Students waiting near the entrance groaned.
"I forgot my umbrella," I muttered.
"I have one."
I glanced at him.
"You carry an umbrella?"
"My driver does."
Of course he did.
I almost laughed. Almost.
Adrian noticed the tiny change in her expression.
"Was that..."
"No."
"Were you about to smile?"
"I wasn't."
"You were."
"I think you're imagining things."
"I definitely saw it."
I zipped up my backpack.
"Keep imagining."
He walked toward the exit before he could tease her any further. Adrian watched her go, shaking his head with a smile. For the first time in a long while...
School didn't feel like something he had to survive. It felt like somewhere he wanted to be.
- Writer
