MAYBE IT'S DIFFERENT
1388 Words
Noah
Monday morning felt unusually quiet.
Or maybe it was just me.
I sat at my desk, staring at the board while our teacher wrote something across it.
Around me, chairs scraped against the floor, pages turned, and people whispered when they thought the teacher wasn't listening.
I barely noticed any of it.
My attention kept drifting toward the other side of the classroom.
Mia.
She was sitting with Valerie, trying to copy something from the board.
She frowned at her notebook.
Then she looked up at the board.
Then back at her notebook.
She sighed.
I almost smiled.
She did that whenever she didn't understand something.
I had noticed it before.
Actually, I'd noticed a lot of things about Mia lately.
The way she tapped her pen against her notebook when she was thinking.
The way she tilted her head whenever someone said something she didn't understand.
The way she laughed quietly before covering her mouth when she thought she was being too loud.
I didn't know when I'd started noticing these things.
I just knew I did.
“Mr. Noah?”
I looked up.
The teacher was staring directly at me.
“Yes, sir?”
“Would you like to share whatever is so interesting on the other side of the classroom?”
A few people laughed.
My face warmed.
“No, sir.”
“Good.”
He turned back to the board.
I lowered my head.
Valerie glanced at me from across the room and raised an eyebrow.
I ignored her.
When I looked toward Mia again, she was smiling.
She had seen everything.
I quickly looked away.
---
A few minutes later, Mia leaned slightly toward me.
“What did he write?”
I looked at her notebook.
“Which part?”
“The last thing.”
I glanced at the board.
“That's the second example.”
She looked at me.
“You understood it?”
“Mostly.”
“Can you explain it?”
I nodded.
I moved my notebook slightly toward her and pointed to the first step.
“You start here.”
Mia leaned over the desk to see.
“So I do this first?”
“Yeah.”
“Then this?”
“Exactly.”
She looked at the problem again.
“Oh.”
Then she smiled.
“That actually makes sense.”
I smiled back.
“Told you.”
She looked at me for another second.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
She returned to her seat.
For some reason, I couldn't stop smiling.
I shook my head and looked back at my notes.
Why was that making me so happy?
It was just helping someone with class.
People did that all the time.
So why did it feel different when it was Mia?
---
During the next lesson, our teacher announced a group activity.
Everyone immediately started moving their chairs around.
“Work in pairs,” she said.
I looked around.
Before I could say anything, Mia appeared beside my desk.
“Are you already with someone?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Good.”
She pulled her chair beside mine.
“We're partners.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You decided that quickly.”
“You explain things better than Valerie.”
Across the room, Valerie heard her name.
“Excuse me?”
Mia laughed.
“I said nothing.”
“You definitely said something.”
Paige laughed from behind them.
Our teacher clapped her hands.
“Enough talking. Start your work.”
Mia turned back toward me.
“Okay, partner.”
I looked down at the worksheet.
“Okay.”
For the next twenty minutes, we worked together.
It was easier than I expected.
Mia was actually good at the questions once she understood what she was supposed to do.
She just had a habit of doubting herself.
“You got that one right,” I said.
She looked at her answer.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
She smiled.
“I thought I was wrong.”
“You're not always wrong, you know.”
She gave me a look.
“Was that supposed to be encouraging?”
“Maybe.”
She laughed.
I laughed too.
And for a moment, I forgot about everything else.
No strange conversations.
No questions.
No awkwardness.
Just Mia sitting beside me, laughing at something I had said.
I looked at her.
And suddenly, I realized I was staring.
I quickly looked back at the worksheet.
Mia noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're acting weird.”
“I'm not.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You are.”
I shook my head.
“Just finish the question.”
She smiled.
“Okay.”
I tried to focus.
But my mind had already wandered somewhere else.
---
After class, everyone started packing their bags.
Mia gathered her books.
“You're going to lunch?”
“Yeah.”
“Coming with us?”
I paused.
“Us?”
“Me, Valerie and Paige.”
“Oh.”
I looked toward the door.
Then back at her.
“Sure.”
She smiled.
“Okay.”
She walked away.
I watched her join Valerie and Paige.
Valerie said something that made Mia laugh.
I smiled without realizing it.
Then I stopped.
I frowned at myself.
What was happening?
---
At lunch, I sat across from Mia.
It wasn't unusual.
We had eaten together before.
But today, I was more aware of everything.
When she laughed.
When she spoke.
When she looked at me.
It was like my brain had decided to pay attention to every little thing.
I tried to ignore it.
It didn't work.
“Mia,” Valerie said.
“Hm?”
“You're quiet.”
Mia shrugged.
“I'm eating.”
“You've been quiet since yesterday.”
Mia looked down at her food.
“I've just been thinking.”
I glanced at her.
She seemed fine.
Not completely, maybe.
But better than before.
I wondered what had been bothering her.
I almost asked.
Then I remembered something.
Sometimes people didn't want questions.
So I didn't ask.
Instead, I said, “You missed one.”
She looked at me.
“What?”
I pointed at her notebook.
“You skipped question six.”
She looked down.
“Oh.”
She laughed.
“I didn't even see it.”
“Clearly.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Don't start.”
I smiled.
“I'm just saying.”
She shook her head.
“You're annoying.”
“You still asked me for help this morning.”
“Unfortunately.”
I laughed.
She smiled.
And again, that strange feeling returned.
I looked away.
This was becoming a problem.
---
That afternoon, I found myself thinking about something I hadn't seriously considered before.
Maybe I liked Mia.
The thought appeared so suddenly that I almost rejected it immediately.
No.
Maybe I just liked talking to her.
That was normal.
We were friends.
I liked my friends.
That didn't mean anything.
But then I started thinking about other people.
Did I notice when they walked into a room?
Did I remember the little things they said?
Did I look forward to talking to them?
Did a simple conversation with them make my entire day feel better?
No.
Not really.
I sat on the edge of my bed that evening, staring at the floor.
Maybe it wasn't just friendship.
I wasn't completely sure yet.
But I couldn't ignore it anymore.
I liked being around Mia.
I liked making her laugh.
I liked helping her when she didn't understand something.
And lately, I had started looking for her without even realizing it.
That had to mean something.
I picked up my phone and opened it.
Mia had sent a message in the class group chat about the assignment.
Nothing special.
Just a reminder.
I stared at it for a moment.
Then I smiled.
I put my phone down.
Maybe I didn't need to figure everything out today.
Maybe I could just let things happen naturally.
I wasn't going to rush into anything.
I wasn't even sure what I wanted yet.
But I knew one thing.
When I walked into class the next morning, I would probably look for Mia first.
And that realization made me smile.
Maybe this wasn't just friendship anymore.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD