The Girl Who Asked Too Many Questions
1045 Words
The next morning, Noah Hayes acted as if Ava Carter didn’t exist.
Not in a cruel way.
Not even intentionally.
He simply…
Avoided her.
When she walked into English Literature, he was already seated in the back corner, eyes fixed on the novel in front of him. During class, he answered Mrs. Bennett’s questions with short, thoughtful responses, but never once looked in Ava’s direction.
It shouldn’t have bothered her.
They’d only spoken once.
Yet somehow…
It did.
⸻
“So…” Emma said during lunch, popping a fry into her mouth. “How’s your husband?”
Ava nearly choked on her drink.
“My what?”
“Noah.”
“He isn’t my husband.”
“Future husband?”
“No.”
“Secret crush?”
“No!”
Emma grinned.
“You turned red.”
“I did not.”
“You absolutely did.”
Ava groaned and buried her face in her hands.
“I just don’t understand him.”
Emma’s teasing expression softened.
“You’re thinking about yesterday.”
Ava nodded.
“I can’t stop.”
The image of Noah’s bruised wrist flashed through her mind.
His father’s angry voice.
The way Noah had looked at her when he’d realized she’d seen everything.
“He looked…” Ava searched for the right word. “…scared.”
Emma frowned.
“Maybe that’s why he keeps everyone at a distance.”
“Maybe.”
Emma leaned forward.
“Or maybe he doesn’t want people feeling sorry for him.”
That thought hadn’t crossed Ava’s mind.
She quietly stared out the cafeteria window.
Rain clouds gathered overhead.
⸻
By the end of the day, the sky had turned almost black.
The rain started just as the final bell rang.
Students rushed through the hallways, laughing as they sprinted toward waiting cars.
Emma sighed dramatically.
“My mom’s late.”
“Mine too.”
“Guess we’re stuck.”
A loud clap of thunder shook the windows.
Mrs. Bennett poked her head into the hallway.
“If you’re waiting for rides, the library will stay open until six.”
Emma looked at Ava.
“Library?”
Ava smiled.
“When have I ever said no to books?”
⸻
The library was unusually quiet.
Rain tapped softly against the tall windows while the smell of old pages filled the room.
Only a handful of students remained.
Ava wandered toward the fiction shelves.
Emma disappeared almost immediately.
“I’m finding snacks,” she whispered.
“In a library?”
“You’d be surprised.”
Ava laughed.
She turned the corner…
…and stopped.
Noah sat alone at one of the wooden tables.
Several books surrounded him.
He looked up.
For a brief second, surprise crossed his face.
Then it disappeared.
“You can sit.”
Ava blinked.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded once.
“It’s a library.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
She slid into the chair across from him.
For a few minutes…
Neither of them spoke.
Only rain.
Only pages turning.
Finally Ava cleared her throat.
“I started reading chapters one through five.”
“So did I.”
“I made notes.”
“So did I.”
She smiled.
“We’re very original.”
A tiny breath escaped Noah’s nose.
Almost…
A laugh.
Encouraged, Ava continued.
“I highlighted way too much.”
“Me too.”
“I think I highlighted half the book.”
“I highlighted three pages.”
She looked up.
“Only three?”
“They were important.”
She laughed.
“You make reading sound like military training.”
Something unexpected happened.
Noah smiled.
Not a huge smile.
Not even close.
Just enough for the corners of his mouth to lift.
His eyes softened.
For a single moment…
He looked like an entirely different person.
Ava couldn’t stop staring.
“There it is,” she whispered.
“What?”
“A smile.”
His expression immediately disappeared.
“I smile.”
“Do you?”
“Sometimes.”
“I don’t believe you.”
He looked at her.
“I just did.”
“I need proof.”
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
“You want photographic evidence?”
She laughed.
“Exactly.”
For the first time since meeting him…
Conversation felt easy.
Natural.
Comfortable.
Even Noah seemed surprised.
⸻
A loud ringtone shattered the quiet.
Noah glanced at his phone.
The smile vanished instantly.
His face grew pale.
“I have to go.”
“But the rain…”
“I’ll be fine.”
He stuffed his books into his backpack in a hurry.
Too much of a hurry.
He barely zipped it shut before rushing toward the exit.
Ava watched him disappear through the library doors.
Emma returned carrying two bags of chips.
“Mission successful.”
She stopped.
“Where’d mystery boy go?”
“He left.”
“In this weather?”
Ava nodded.
“He looked… worried.”
Emma handed her a bag of chips.
As Ava reached for it, something caught her eye.
A black notebook lay beneath Noah’s chair.
His sketchbook.
“He forgot something.”
“You should give it back.”
“I will.”
She picked it up.
It was heavier than she’d expected.
The elastic band slipped loose.
The cover opened.
“I shouldn’t…”
Emma looked over.
“Then don’t.”
Ava hesitated.
She knew it was private.
She really shouldn’t look.
She reached to close it…
A single page fluttered open.
A pencil drawing.
A girl.
Beautifully detailed.
Long hair.
Soft eyes.
A gentle smile.
Ava’s breath caught.
She slowly turned another page.
Another drawing.
The same girl.
Then another.
And another.
Different angles.
Different expressions.
All the same person.
Emma leaned closer.
“…Ava.”
“I know.”
“No…”
Emma whispered.
“She looks exactly like you.”
Ava couldn’t speak.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
Same eyes.
Same smile.
Even the tiny scar above her eyebrow.
She stared at the sketchbook in disbelief.
Who was this girl?
Why did she look so much like her?
And…
Why had Noah drawn her over and over again?
Outside, thunder rumbled across the darkening sky.
Ava hugged the sketchbook to her chest.
Tomorrow…
She needed answers.
- Writer
