Chasing Sunset

Chapter 3: Something Different

By the third day of working with Kael Reyes, I had discovered something inconvenient.

I had started to enjoy his company.

Not that I would ever admit it.

Especially not to him.

I still found plenty of things about Kael irritating, like the way he turned up five minutes before the class and acted like he was something special.

The way he tapped his pen on his desk when he thought.

The way he somehow remembered every mistake I had made for our years of rivalry.

But recently there were other things I had started noticing.

How he made sure everyone had eaten before they started working.

How he stayed behind after class to help our group clean up.

How he never complained when someone made a mistake.

And how he would always put a bottle of water beside my notebook when I got too distracted with the project, and never said anything.

I noticed all of it.

Unfortunately.

And I was beginning to wonder if I had been wrong about him all these years.

"You're staring again."

I looked up from my notebook as Kael stood beside my desk.

"I wasn't."

"You were."

"I was thinking."

"About me?"

I almost dropped my pen.

"Absolutely not."

He smiled.

"Too quick."

"Because the answer is obvious."

"Sure."

I rolled my eyes and went back to my notes.

It was Thursday, and our classroom was unusually loud.

The teacher had given us the first half of the period to work on our festival projects, so everyone had pushed their desks together into groups.

We sat in the corner by the windows.

Papers scattered across the desk as a laptop played through a rough version of the film.

Someone was cutting up printed photographs.

Another member was working on the narration.

It all looked very disorganized.

But somehow it was starting to look like a real project.

Kael pulled a chair up beside me.

"Let's watch the footage."

I pushed my notebook to the side as he opened his laptop and displayed the first scene we had filmed in the garden.

The colors were soft, the camera movements smooth.

The background music had yet to be added, but even so, the scene had a certain feeling.

I watched as Kael rewound the footage and played it again.

"This shot."

I said, pointing at the screen.

"It needs to be longer."

"It does?" Kael questioned as he stopped the video.

"The character's expression changes here."

I said as he rewound the footage, watching carefully as he played it again and I watched the scene, then nodded.

"You're right."

I smiled as he looked at me.

"Don't look so surprised."

"I am."

"I admit when I'm wrong."

"Rarely."

"Still happens."

"Once every five years."

He laughed as I tried to hide my smile.

The teacher called for our attention.

"Remember, the deadline is next Friday. You don't want to wait until the last minute."

A collective groan echoed through the room as Kael leaned toward me.

"She's talking to you."

I whispered back.

"She's talking to you."We're both guilty."True."

After class, our group decided to film another scene.

This time we needed a hallway scene.

The hallway was almost always empty at lunch time with most students in the cafeteria.

Kael set up the camera.

"Stand there."

I looked at the place he pointed at.

"Here?"

"Yes.

Why?"

"Because the lighting is better."

I walked over as he adjusted the camera.

"Turn slightly."

I did as instructed.

"More."

I turned again.

"Perfect."

For some reason, the word made me feel uneasy.

I looked up at Kael, who was focussing on the camera.

Maybe it was my imagination.

"Ready?" Kael asked as I nodded, and he began filming.

Our actor walked down the hallway, then stopped by the window and looked out.

Kael filmed as I watched the monitor.

"Cut."

Kael lowered the camera.

"What's wrong?"

"The background."

He looked behind the actor as a student walked by.

"Again."

We repeated the scene and the process.

Again.

Again.

By the fourth time, someone slammed a classroom door.

I groaned as Kael laughed.

"Don't worry.

I'm trying not to.

We have time.

That's what you always say."

"Because panicking doesn't make the footage better."

I said as Kael looked at me.

"You're surprisingly calm."

He shrugged.

"Someone has to be."

I smiled.

"Maybe you're not completely useless."

He was offended.

"Not completely?"

"Don't push it."

He laughed as I looked back at the camera.

By three in the afternoon, we finally finished the hallway scene.

Everyone began to pack up their things as I stayed behind to sort the footage.

Kael stayed as well.

"You can go," I said as he looked around.

"So can you.

I need to finish this."

"So do I."

I looked at him.

"Why do you always have to win?"

He smiled.

"Because you always make it fun."

I didn't know what to say, so I looked back at the laptop.

The class was almost empty now as sunlight flooded across the floor from the windows, turning the desk gold.

For a moment, the room seemed to be unusually peaceful.

Kael sat by me, our shoulders almost brushing, as I tried to look at the laptop.

It didn't work.

"Elara."

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

I looked at him.

"Sure.

Why do you hate losing to me so much?"

I laughed.

"Because I hate losing."

"That's not an answer."

I looked down at my hands.

"Maybe because you're the only person I feel like I have to prove myself to."

He was quiet.

"Why?"

I shrugged.

"Because you always seem so good at everything."

He looked surprised.

"Me?"

"Yes.

You're better than me at half the things we compete in."

"That's not the point.

Then what is?"

I didn't answer because I didn't know.

Maybe it was because I'd spent so many years competing with Kael that I'd forgotten what we were competing for.

Recognition?

Pride?

Or simply his attention?

I shook the thought away.

"Never mind."

He didn't press the issue, instead he gave me a smile.

"You know, I don't think you're difficult to beat."

I looked at him.

"What?"

"I think you're difficult to impress."

I stared at him as he stood and picked up his bag.

"See you tomorrow."

Then he walked out, leaving me in the empty room.

My heart racing, I stayed where I was.

I hated him.

I really did.

Probably.

The next day something happened which made everything worse.

Our teacher announced that each group had to present a short preview of their project in front of the entire class.

I hated presenting unfinished work, especially when I wasn't completely confident in it.

We stood at the front of the classroom as Kael connected the laptop to the projector.

The lights were turned off, and the first scene began.

Our classmates silently watched as we presented the garden, the hallway, the old library, and the character searching for memories.

Then the final scene, where the sunset came.

The room became quiet as the preview ended and the lights came back on.

For a moment, nobody spoke, until someone clapped, then another, and soon the entire class was applauding.

I looked at Kael, who smiled as he saw the applause.

Not his usual teasing smile, but a genuine one.

Our teacher nodded.

"Very good. The concept is strong, and the visuals are beautiful."

I felt a warmth in my chest as we had completed it.

Together.

After class, our group celebrated in the cafeteria.

Everyone was excited, and Mira sat next to me, watching as Kael talked with the others.

Then she leaned towards me.

"You two are getting along."

"We're working."

"That's not what I said!"

I ignored her as she smiled.

"Something happened."

"Nothing happened."

"You're blushing."

"I'm not."

"You are.

I am warm."

"It's air-conditioned."

I gave her a warning look before she laughed.

Across the table, Kael glanced at us.

"What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing," I said quickly.

Mira smiled.

"Elara was just telling me how much she likes working with you."

My eyes widened.

"I did not—"

Kael laughed.

"Really?"

"No."

He looked at me.

"I think she does."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

"You smiled.

Everyone smiles.

Not at me."

I froze as he said it so casually that I didn't know whether he realized what he had said.

The table suddenly felt too small as I looked down at my food.

Mira was definitely trying not to laugh.

Kael leaned back in his chair, and eventually someone changed the subject.

After lunch, I escaped to the library.

I needed quiet, I needed space, most importantly, I needed to stop thinking about Kael.

I found an empty table near the windows and opened my notebook.

For a while, everything was peaceful.

Until someone pulled out the chair across from me.

I didn't look up.

"I thought I escaped you."

Kael sat down.

"You didn't.

Why are you here?"

"Looking for you."

I finally looked up.

"Why?"

He put something down in front of me, and I stared at it.

My camera.

I had left it in the classroom.

"You forgot this."

I stared at it.

"I didn't even notice."I know."

"Thank you."

He nodded as I picked up the camera.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

Then he said, "You should take a break sometimes."

"I'm fine."

"You say that a lot."

"Because I am."

He smiled slightly.

"You don't have to be."

I looked at him, there was something different in his expression.

Something softer, something that made me forget how to breathe for a second.

I quickly looked away.

"Do you ever stop being serious?"Not around you."

I looked back, and he was smiling.

I couldn't tell if he was joking.

And somehow, that made it worse.

That evening, I stayed at school until almost sunset.

I walked towards the hill alone, the sky already turning orange.

I took out my camera.

Click.

The sunset was beautiful, but for some reason, I wasn't thinking about the sunset.

I was thinking about Kael.

About the way he looked at me.

About the things he said.

About how our rivalry had slowly become something softer.

Something neither of us understood.

I lowered my camera.

Maybe Mira was right, maybe something really was changing.

But I wasn't ready to admit it.

Because admitting it would mean accepting that Kael Reyes wasn't just my rival anymore.

And I wasn't sure I was ready for what he might become.