The Secret of Room C6

Chapter Three

My heart skipped a beat, a rush of warmth and confusion coursing through me. My eyes were drawn to the curve of her lips, soft and full, just slightly parted as if waiting for words I wasn’t supposed to hear.

“Oh, my goodness!” I snapped, the sharpness in my voice betraying the lingering pull of… something else. Part of me noticed the way she stood there, with a knowing, almost mischievous smile.

The twins beside her immediately apologized in hurried overlapping voices. “Sorry! Sorry!”. Their chorus only made the moment feel smaller, more intimate between the two of us.

She stepped closer, a strange warmth spreading through me. My fists clenched, not because of anger, but the flutter in my stomach.

“I… I’m sorry,” she said softly, and something about the way the words rolled off her tongue made my heart skip again. They weren’t just apologies. They were almost melodic, teasingly impossible to ignore.

Her lips curved into that same knowing smile. “I’m Edna”, she said, and her name lingered in the air. Edna.

From behind her, the twins quickly spoke up. “We’re Mara and Clara”, one of them said, pointing to herself and then to the other twin. Their voices overlapped slightly, hurried, and apologetic.

Mara and Clara were almost identical, the kind of resemblance that made you do a double-take, but a few subtle differences. Clara had a slightly sharper chin, and Mara had a softer laugh. Even their voices were different—Mara’s like a bell, Clara’s like a soft thread. Once you looked, the differences were impossible to miss.

“I’m Amara,” I said, my voice smaller than I wanted. “Hi, Amara! Nice to meet you!” they chorused, their energy spilling into the room.

I raised a hand, suppressing a smile. “Can we keep the noise to a minimum?” I teased slightly, feeling the heat creep up my cheeks because the attention was all on me. “We might get along just fine if we do.”

They grinned in unison. “Deal!”

The small talk started easy and natural. “What course are you studying?” Mara asked.

“Computer Science,” I replied, glancing briefly at Edna, who was watching me quietly, her presence still pulling at my attention.

“We’re going down to the stadium later tonight. Want to join? My brother’s having a football game. We want to go cheer him on.” Edna said.

I hesitated, my stomach twisting. Memories of last semester crept up uninvited. Friends I thought I could trust, promises broken, laughter that turned sour. I shouldn’t… I started to pull back, my instinct screaming caution.

But then I looked at them smiling genuinely, the kind of warmth that felt almost alien after all the disappointments I’d had. Something in me softened.

I exhaled slowly, forcing a small shrug. “Alright… fine,” I muttered, trying to sound casual. “Let’s go.”

The stadium was buzzing with life when we entered, the air thick with shouts and laughter. I took a deep breath, trying to let it wash over me, but then my eyes caught a familiar figure in the crowd—a boy from my old class, who made last semester unbearable.

His smirk was still there, the same mocking tilt of his head, and I felt my chest tighten, memories of whispered insults and sideways glances clawing at the edge of my mind.

Before panic could take hold, Edna’s hand slightly brushed against mine. “Do you want to get out of here?” she asked quietly, her voice calm but insistent.

”Yeah,” I whispered, relief breaking through the tension as I followed her toward a quieter corner outside the main crowd. My footsteps felt heavier, slower, like I was still carrying the weight of that semester.

We walked in silence for a few moments, the stadium noise fading behind us. My mind was racing, but Edna didn’t press—her presence was a steadying thing, grounding me without words.

Finally, she tilted her head, hesitating. “So… um… tell me about you. Like… your life, I mean.”

I blinked, unsure how much to say. Memories of broken trust made me pause, but something about her—her patience, the softness in her gaze—made it feel safe. I found myself starting with small things: my love for music, BTS, and Ariana Grande, the secret thrill of singing when I was alone.

That’s… really cool,” she said, smiling softly. “I didn’t know you were into music like that.”

”Well… you don’t know me at all,” I muttered, a small edge in my voice, half-teasing, half-defensive.

Edna’s eyes widened slightly, and she let out a soft laugh. “Yeah… sorry. That was so dumb to say,” she admitted, her smile turning sheepish.

She laughed quietly, a sound that felt like sunlight cutting through the shadows of my old fears. “I’d like to hear you sometime,” she said, and I choked back a small laugh, my heart doing that weird flutter again.

We walked a little further, edging past the outer field, the air lighter now. I found myself opening up a bit more—small details about my classes, my roommates, an, even silly stories about my first week. She listened, genuinely interested, and the warmth of her attention was almost dizzying.

When we reached the edge of my hall, she paused, turning to look at me fully. There was a hesitation in her eyes that mirrored my own caution. “I hope to see you around… tomorrow?”

I felt heat rise to my cheeks, and my pulse spiked. “Yeah… see you,” I murmured, almost breathless, my mind already replaying the walk, her laugh, the way her eyes held mine just a moment too long.

Later that night, lying in bed, I stared at the ceiling, the world outside my window quiet and still. What is this feeling? I thought, tracing the memory of the walk over and over in my mind. This… this could be the start of something new.