First time talking together
671 Words
The rain didn’t fall. It loomed all day threatening heavily but never coming down. The sky stayed grey and thick with clouds like someone had pulled a curtain over the sun. Aisha liked days like this. The light was soft, and everything moved more slowly, like the world was giving people time to think.
By lunchtime, the courtyard was half-empty. Most students stayed indoors, crowded into classrooms, scrolling on their phones, or eating in tight circles.
Aisha went to the back building. There was a bench near the old generator room that barely anyone remembered existed. The bench itself was crooked, one leg shorter than the others, but it faced the trees, and no one bothered her there.
She sat, pulled a book from her bag, and let herself breathe.
Her shoulders didn’t know how to drop. Even when she wasn’t doing anything, her body stayed ready like something might go wrong at any moment. That’s what growing up in her house taught her: don’t relax too much and don't expect calm to last.
“Hey.” the voice came in quietly and carefully.
She slowly looked up.
Kamal stood a few feet away with his hands in his pockets,and backpack slung low. He didn’t smile and he appeared unsure of his presence there.
She stared at him, expression blank.
He didn’t flinch. Just nodded at the space beside her. “Can I sit?” she said nothing but slowly shifted her bag slightly to the side.
That was enough.
He sat, leaving space between them. Enough space for Silence to sit comfortably too.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. The only sound was the weak murmurof the generator behind the wall, and the wind tusslingwith the leaves above them.
He finally broke the silence, “That book’s upside down.” she shifted her gaze and lo and behold, it was.
She flipped it over quickly.
He nodded to himself, like that was the exact response he expected.
“I’m not trying to chase you,” he said after a while. “In case it seemed like that.”
She looked at him, slow and steady. “What are you doing then?”
He thought for a second. “I think I’m just... seeing you.”
Aisha didn’t react. Not with her face. But something in her chest moved.
“Most people don’t,” he added. “They either want something or they look away.”
That sat between them for a minute.
Then she said, “And you? You don’t want anything?”
“I didn’t say that,” he replied, honestly. “I just don’t expect anything.”
The corner of her mouth twitched, not into a smile but something smaller. A breath of one, maybe.
He kept his eyes on the trees, not her. That was smart.
“You’re different in class,” she said.
“How?”
“You seem louder. More sure.”
He gave a half-shrug. “That’s just noise. I know how to perform.”
“Why?”
“Because silence makes people nervous. If you’re too quiet, they start asking questions.”
She glanced at him. “Or making assumptions.”
“Exactly.”
She closed her book gently like the conversation had earned her attention now.
“You’re not what I expected,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “What did you expect?”
She thought about it then spat out, “Entitled, arrogant, and annoying.”
He gave a short laugh. “You got at least one of those right.”
That almost drew a real smile from her. Almost.
They sat in silence again but just that this time, it doesn't feel denser like when he first walked in on her and that made him smile.
Before the bell rang, he stood up.
“Thanks for not walking away,” he said.
She didn’t answer. Just watched him go.
After he left, she opened the book again.
Right side up this time.
But she still didn’t read.
- Writer
