THE PAST BETWEEN US

The past between us

Chapter 1:

(The Difficult Question)

The classroom was unusually quiet.

It was Monday morning at West bridge High School, and the only sounds were the scratching of pencils against paper and the occasional turning of a page.

Maya sat near the window, staring at her mathematics test.

One question had been staring back at her for nearly ten minutes.

She sighed.

"Why won't you make sense?"

She had always been a good student. Her notebooks were neat, her assignments were usually complete, and her grades were nothing to be ashamed of.

But mathematics had a way of humbling her.

Especially questions like this one.

Maya read it again.

She wrote an equation.

Crossed it out.

Tried another.

Crossed that out too.

She glanced around the classroom.

Several students were already writing confidently.

At the front, their mathematics teacher walked between the rows, occasionally stopping to check someone's work.

Maya lowered her head.

She hated being stuck.

She hated even more when other people noticed.

Then a quiet voice came from behind her.

"You're making it harder than it is."

Maya turned.

Ethan Cole was sitting at the desk behind her.

He was one of the quietest students in their class. He rarely spoke unless necessary, but everyone knew he was exceptionally intelligent.

He had already completed most of his test.

Maya whispered, "Then why don't you tell me the answer?"

Ethan shook his head.

"Because you'll forget it."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

He leaned forward slightly and pointed at her paper.

"Look at the second part first."

Maya looked at the question.

"The second part?"

"Yes."

"And then?"

"Ask yourself what information you already have."

Maya stared at the page.

She thought for a moment.

Then she wrote something down.

Ethan nodded.

"Good."

Maya continued.

One step.

Then another.

Her eyes widened.

"I think I got it."

"Check it."

She checked her calculations.

Her face lit up.

"I got it!"

Ethan smiled.

"See?"

Maya looked at him.

"You knew I could solve it."

"I knew you could if you stopped panicking."

She frowned.

"I wasn't panicking."

"You were."

"I was thinking."

"You were erasing the same line five times."

Maya tried not to laugh.

"Maybe I was thinking very hard."

Ethan laughed quietly.

It was the first time she had heard him laugh.

The bell rang.

Everyone immediately began packing their books.

Maya closed her notebook and looked at Ethan.

"Thank you."

He shrugged.

"No problem."

She hesitated.

"Ethan?"

"Yes?"

"Could you teach me how you solve questions like that?"

He looked surprised.

"After school?"

"Yes."

He nodded.

"Okay."

Maya smiled.

"Thanks."

Neither of them knew it yet, but that small conversation would change both their lives.

---

After school, Maya waited in the library.

She sat at a table near the windows, surrounded by textbooks.

She checked the clock.

3:35 p.m.

Ethan had said after school.

She wondered if he would actually come.

At exactly 3:40, he appeared.

"You waited."

Maya smiled.

"You said you'd come."

Ethan placed his books on the table.

"Fair enough."

For the next hour, Ethan taught her different ways of approaching difficult questions.

He never laughed when she made mistakes.

Instead, he would say, "Try again."

And somehow, those two words made Maya feel less afraid of getting things wrong.

By the time they finished, she had solved six questions she had previously thought were impossible.

"This is amazing," Maya said.

"It's just practice."

"You make it look easy."

"It isn't easy."

"Then how do you do it?"

"I make mistakes until I understand them."

Maya smiled.

"That's actually good advice."

Ethan packed his books.

"You should remember it."

"I will."

They walked out of the library together.

For the first time in a long while, Maya didn't feel embarrassed about struggling with mathematics.

She had found someone who didn't make her feel stupid for not knowing something.

And Ethan had found someone who genuinely appreciated his quiet way of helping.

Their friendship had begun with nothing more than a difficult question.

Neither of them knew that it would eventually follow them far beyond high school.

Chapter 2:

A New Friendship

The next morning, Maya arrived at school earlier than usual.

She wasn't sure why.

Maybe it was because she had mathematics first period.

Or maybe it was because she was hoping to see Ethan.

She walked through the hallway and spotted him near the classroom window, reading a book.

"Ethan!"

He looked up.

"Morning."

Maya smiled. "Good morning."

She placed her bag on her desk.

"I practiced yesterday."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You did?"

"Yes."

"Did you actually solve the questions?"

"All of them."

He smiled. "Good."

Maya pulled a notebook from her bag.

"Look."

She opened it and showed him several pages filled with calculations.

Ethan examined them carefully.

"You made a mistake here."

Maya's smile disappeared.

"What?"

He pointed at one of the calculations.

"You forgot to change the sign."

Maya stared at the page.

Then she groaned.

"I thought I finally got everything right."

"You got almost everything right."

"Almost doesn't count."

"It does when you're learning."

Maya looked at him.

"You really don't give up on people, do you?"

Ethan shrugged.

"What's the point?"

Before Maya could answer, their teacher entered the classroom.

"Everyone, take your seats."

Maya returned to her desk.

But she couldn't stop smiling.

For the next few weeks, she and Ethan became closer.

They studied together during free periods.

Sometimes they met in the library after school.

Other times, they simply talked about ordinary things—teachers, homework, their favorite subjects, and their plans for the future.

Maya discovered that Ethan wasn't as quiet as everyone thought.

He was actually funny.

He just didn't talk to everyone.

Ethan, in turn, discovered that Maya was stubborn.

Very stubborn.

Whenever she couldn't solve a problem, she refused to give up.

One afternoon, Maya slammed her pencil onto the table.

"I hate this question."

Ethan looked up from his book.

"You said that about the last one."

"And I meant it."

He laughed.

Maya narrowed her eyes.

"Are you laughing at me?"

"No."

"You are."

"I'm laughing because you've been fighting that question for twenty minutes."

"Then help me!"

Ethan moved his chair closer.

"Okay. Let's start again."

Maya smiled.

"That's better."

They continued studying until the library announcement reminded them that it was closing.

As they walked outside, Maya noticed the sky had turned dark.

"It might rain."

Ethan looked upward.

"Probably."

They hurried toward the school gate.

Then the rain began.

Maya stopped.

"Oh no."

Ethan looked at her.

"You don't have an umbrella?"

"No."

He opened his umbrella.

"Come on."

Maya hesitated.

"You'll get wet."

"So will you."

He held the umbrella out.

"Unless you plan on standing here all evening."

Maya laughed and stepped under it.

They walked toward the gate together.

Neither said much.

But somehow, the silence wasn't uncomfortable.

It felt natural.

Maya looked at Ethan.

"Thanks."

"For the umbrella?"

"For everything."

Ethan glanced at her.

"You're welcome."

Neither of them realized how important their friendship would become.

But somewhere between mathematics lessons, library afternoons, and rainy walks home, something had changed.

They were no longer just classmates.

They had become best friends.

And neither knew that years later, the memories they were creating would become some of the most important memories of their lives

Chapter 3:

The Unexpected Test

The following Monday, the mathematics teacher walked into the classroom carrying a stack of papers.

Everyone immediately became suspicious.

Maya looked at Ethan.

"What are those?"

Ethan glanced at the papers.

"Probably a test."

Maya's eyes widened.

"A test?"

Their teacher smiled.

"Don't worry. It's only a short assessment."

Maya sighed with relief.

"Only?"

Ethan laughed.

"You'll be fine."

"You always say that."

"Because you usually are."

The papers were handed out.

Maya turned hers over.

The first few questions were easy.

She answered them quickly.

Then she reached question six.

She froze.

It looked familiar.

But she couldn't remember how to solve it.

She took a deep breath.

Instead of panicking, she remembered Ethan's advice.

Look at what you already know.

She carefully read the question again.

Then she began working.

Step by step.

For the first time, she didn't erase everything when she made a mistake.

She corrected it and continued.

When the teacher called time, Maya put down her pencil.

She looked at Ethan.

He gave her a small thumbs-up.

After class, Maya couldn't stop smiling.

"I think I did well."

"I told you."

"But this time, I believed you."

Ethan smiled.

"That's progress."

Maya held up her notebook.

"Then I deserve a reward."

"What reward?"

"You're buying me a snack."

Ethan laughed.

"Why?"

"Because you helped me become better at mathematics."

"That's not how rewards work."

"It is today."

They walked toward the school cafeteria, laughing.

Neither noticed that someone was watching them from across the hallway.

A girl named Chloe.

She had been Maya's classmate since their first year.

And she had noticed how close Maya and Ethan had become.

Chloe didn't say anything.

She simply walked away.

But the friendship between Maya and Ethan was beginning to attract attention.

And not everyone was happy about it.

---

That afternoon, Maya received her test paper.

She stared at the score.

"Seventy-eight!"

Ethan looked over.

"That's good."

"Good?"

Maya smiled proudly.

"That's the highest score I've ever gotten in mathematics."

"I'm proud of you."

Those simple words made Maya smile even more.

"Thank you."

She carefully placed the paper inside her notebook.

For the rest of the day, she felt different.

More confident.

More determined.

She had finally realized something important.

Being good at something wasn't about never making mistakes.

It was about refusing to let mistakes stop you.

And Ethan had helped her understand that.

Their friendship was becoming stronger every day.

But neither of them knew that the biggest test of their friendship was still ahead.