CHAPTER NINE: THE BEGINNING OF US
785 Words
At first…
It was just annoyance.
Zara didn’t like Daniel.
Not his attitude.
Not his laziness.
Not the way he carried himself like the world owed him something.
“Stop tapping your pen,” she said without looking up.
Daniel paused mid-tap.
Then smirked.
“You noticed.”
Zara sighed.
“It’s distracting.”
“Everything distracts you,” he teased.
“No,” she replied calmly. “Just you.”
Daniel chuckled.
For some reason…
He liked that.
---
It started with small things.
A question here.
A complaint there.
“Hey, what did the teacher mean by that?” Daniel asked one afternoon, leaning over her desk.
Zara didn’t even look at him.
“Which part?”
“All of it.”
She paused.
Then slowly turned to him.
“You weren’t listening at all?”
“Nope.”
Zara stared at him for a moment.
Then shook her head.
“You’re impossible.”
“Yet here I am,” he said proudly.
Zara exhaled.
“Sit.”
Daniel blinked.
“Wait… you’re actually going to help me?”
“Do you want to understand or not?” she asked.
He grinned.
“I do.”
And just like that…
It began.
---
“What part don’t you understand?” Zara asked, pointing at the page.
Daniel leaned closer.
“This whole thing looks like a different language.”
Zara frowned slightly.
“It’s basic.”
“Not for me.”
She studied him for a moment.
Then something shifted.
“Fine,” she said. “We’ll start from the beginning.”
Daniel raised a brow.
“We?”
Zara didn’t answer.
She just started explaining.
Slowly.
Clearly.
Patiently.
And for the first time…
Daniel listened.
---
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into routine.
“Zara!” Daniel called, dropping his bag beside her. “I failed another test.”
Zara didn’t even react.
“What did you score?”
“Twenty.”
She looked up.
“Out of?”
“Fifty.”
Zara closed her eyes briefly.
“That’s not something to be proud of.”
“I’m not proud,” he said quickly. “I’m… improving?”
Zara stared at him.
Then—
She laughed.
Soft.
Unexpected.
Daniel blinked.
“You’re laughing at me?”
“I’m surprised,” she admitted. “You actually tried this time.”
Daniel rubbed the back of his neck.
“Maybe I had a good teacher.”
Zara rolled her eyes.
“Don’t get used to it.”
But something about the moment lingered.
Something light.
Something new.
---
It didn’t stop at school.
“Come to the mall after classes,” Daniel said one day. “I’ll show you something.”
Zara hesitated.
“I don’t have time for nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense,” he insisted. “I promise.”
After a long pause…
She agreed.
---
The Hayes family mall was massive.
Bright.
Busy.
Overwhelming.
Zara stood at the entrance, taking it all in.
“This is yours?” she asked quietly.
Daniel shrugged.
“Family’s.”
Zara nodded slowly.
Different worlds.
Completely.
“Come on,” Daniel said, pulling her along. “I’ll get you something.”
“I don’t need anything,” she protested.
“Relax,” he said. “It’s just a thank you.”
Zara stopped walking.
“I didn’t help you for gifts.”
Daniel paused.
Then looked at her properly.
“I know,” he said.
And for once…
He meant it.
---
Something changed after that.
Not suddenly.
Not dramatically.
But slowly.
Quietly.
Daniel started trying.
Actually trying.
He paid attention in class.
Asked questions.
Showed up on time.
All because—
“You’ll explain it later, right?” he asked one day.
Zara shook her head.
“You’ll understand it in class.”
Daniel groaned.
“You’re strict.”
“I’m serious.”
Daniel smiled slightly.
“I like that.”
Zara looked away quickly.
Ignoring the strange feeling in her chest.
---
“Why are you helping me?” Daniel asked one evening as they studied together.
Zara paused.
Then answered honestly.
“Because you’re not as useless as you pretend to be.”
Daniel laughed.
“That’s the nicest insult I’ve ever received.”
Zara smiled faintly.
“You just need someone to take you seriously.”
Daniel watched her quietly.
“And you do?” he asked softly.
Zara met his gaze.
“Yes.”
Something passed between them.
Brief.
Unspoken.
But real.
---
That was the beginning.
Not of love.
Not yet.
But of something…
Important.
Something that would grow.
Something that would change both their lives.
and at that time even classmates started to envy their closeness.
- Writer
