Chapter 39: The Space Between Words
318 Words
The next morning felt heavier than usual. The air was thick with whispers as Maria walked through the hallway, her footsteps echoing with silent confidence. Everyone was watching — not because she looked particularly different, but because her name was once again the center of attention.
Rumors had their own legs in this school, and today they ran wild.
But one person was missing from the noise — Daniel.
She didn’t see him in the hallway, in the cafeteria, not even leaning by the science block like he usually did. And that bothered her more than she was willing to admit.
In Literature class, the ceiling fan hummed lazily above as Mr. Tunde paced in front of the chalkboard. “Metaphors,” he said, tapping the board, “are not just poetic tools. They reveal the truth we’re too afraid to say out loud.”
Maria’s eyes stayed fixed on her desk, but her mind wandered.
Daniel was a metaphor.
A walking contradiction of warmth and cruelty. Kind in smiles, cold in actions. And now, absent. Silent.
“Maria,” Mr. Tunde’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “Symbolism in that last paragraph, please.”
She inhaled, steadying her voice. “It’s about silence… how sometimes what we don’t say can scream louder than what we do.”
There was a pause — even Mr. Tunde looked slightly taken aback. “Very well said.”
After class, Emeka caught up with her outside. “Still pretending you don’t care?”
She offered a faint smile. “Still pretending I ever did.”
But later that night, her truth spilled out on paper.
> Day 39 — He didn’t text. He didn’t call.
But I still checked my phone ten times.
I miss the weight of his attention.
Not his words. Just… him.
She closed the journal, blinking away thoughts she couldn’t write down yet.
Maybe tomorrow.
- Writer
