The First Secret
796 Words
By Wednesday morning, Amelia had started getting used to Ethan sitting beside her.
What she wasn't used to was how easily he could make her smile.
Every morning, he greeted her before the teacher arrived. Sometimes they talked about school, sometimes about their favorite movies, and sometimes about completely random things that somehow became interesting when they talked about them.
It had only been a few days, but Amelia already felt comfortable around him.
That morning, she was copying notes from the board when Ethan quietly pushed a folded piece of paper toward her.
She looked at him suspiciously.
“What is this?”
“Open it.”
Amelia unfolded the paper.
Written across it were three words:
I need your help.
She looked at him.
“With what?”
He leaned closer and whispered, “I have to choose a topic for our English presentation, and I have no idea what to pick.”
Amelia tried not to laugh.
“That’s your emergency?”
“Yes.”
“You scared me.”
“Sorry.”
She smiled and wrote something on the paper before sliding it back.
Write about something you actually care about.
Ethan read it.
“What if I don't know what I care about?”
“Then you have a lot to discover.”
He smiled.
“Maybe you can help me.”
Before Amelia could answer, their teacher turned around.
“Amelia and Ethan, would you like to share your conversation with the entire class?”
They immediately looked at the board.
“No, ma'am,” they said together.
The class laughed.
After the lesson, Ethan shook his head.
“We almost got in trouble because of you.”
“Because of me?”
“You started it.”
“You gave me the note!”
“That is true.”
They both laughed.
At lunch, Chloe joined them at their usual table.
“I have news,” she announced.
Amelia looked up.
“What happened?”
“Our English teacher said we're doing group presentations next week.”
Ethan looked at Amelia.
“Guess we're going to be spending more time together.”
Chloe raised an eyebrow.
“Interesting.”
Amelia ignored her.
“Who is in our group?”
“Me, you, Ethan, and Daniel.”
“That should be fine.”
Daniel sat down beside them.
“So, when are we meeting?”
“Tomorrow after school?” Ethan suggested.
Amelia nodded.
“Works for me.”
The group spent the rest of lunch discussing their presentation.
When the final bell rang, Amelia packed her things and stood up.
She was about to leave when Ethan called her.
“Amelia?”
She turned.
“Yeah?”
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“What?”
He hesitated.
“Why don't you ever talk about yourself?”
She looked confused.
“What do you mean?”
“You're always asking everyone else questions. You know things about me and Chloe, but I don't know much about you.”
Amelia smiled slightly.
“There's not much to know.”
“I don't believe that.”
She looked down at her notebook.
“My life is pretty normal.”
“Normal doesn't mean boring.”
She looked back at him.
For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
“My biggest dream is to become a writer someday,” she finally admitted.
Ethan smiled.
“I knew it.”
“How?”
“The way you talk about stories.”
Amelia's smile grew.
“And what's your dream?”
He thought for a moment.
“I want to build something of my own one day. Something that makes people proud.”
“That's a good dream.”
“Maybe we'll both get there.”
“Maybe.”
They walked out of the classroom together.
Outside, the sky was turning orange as the sun began to set.
At the school gate, Ethan stopped.
“See you tomorrow.”
“See you.”
Amelia started walking away, then turned around.
“Ethan?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for asking.”
“For what?”
“For wanting to know me.”
He smiled.
“I do want to know you.”
Amelia smiled back before walking away.
That evening, she sat at her desk and opened her notebook.
She stared at the blank page for several seconds.
Then she wrote a single sentence:
Some people enter your life quietly, and somehow, everything starts to feel different.
She paused.
Then she smiled.
For the first time, Amelia wondered if Ethan was becoming more than just the boy who sat beside her.
Maybe he was becoming someone important.
And she wasn't sure whether that thought scared her or made her happy.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD