Chapter 2 – Shadows In Broad Daylight
1176 Words
Jason couldn’t stop thinking about the note.
He’d read it maybe ten times already. The handwriting was small, the message short, but it stuck to his chest like something unfinished. Something bold. He kept it folded in his pocket all morning. Didn’t tell anyone about it. Not even Sean.
Especially not Sean.
He didn’t know why.
The bell rang for English and Jason took the seat at the back. He always sat near the window. Something about looking outside helped him breathe. Sean sat next to him, leaning back in his chair, tapping his pen against the desk.
“Ready to suffer?” Sean asked with a grin.
Jason smirked. “Been suffering since I walked in.”
Sean chuckled. “Man, Miss Ivy gonna kill us with these stupid poems.”
“Don’t hate on poetry,” Jason said.
Sean raised a brow. “Since when do you read poems?”
Jason shrugged. “I don’t. I just like quiet things lately.”
Sean tilted his head but didn’t push. He nodded once. “You good though?”
Jason nodded. “Yeah.”
“You sure?”
Jason smiled a little. “I’m sure.”
Miss Ivy started class and began talking about symbolism in old love poems. Jason half-listened. Mostly, he just watched the hallway through the open door.
Halfway through class, she walked in.
Talia.
Late again. No excuse. Just a quiet nod to the teacher before sliding into the empty seat three rows ahead. She didn’t look at anyone. Not even him.
Jason’s eyes stayed on her back. Her hoodie was off this time. Her braids were pulled into a loose ponytail. Her shoulders were slightly hunched, like she wanted to disappear.
He didn’t know what it was about her that made the room feel colder when she walked in. Maybe it was the way people watched her without watching her. Like she carried something no one wanted to touch.
After class, Jason caught up with her in the hallway.
“Hey.”
She paused but didn’t turn around.
“I liked the note,” he said.
She slowly looked over her shoulder. “What note?”
Jason gave her a look. “Don’t do that.”
She smiled just a little. “You weren’t supposed to find it yet.”
“Well. I did.”
“Then I guess I messed up.”
Jason laughed softly. “You don’t strike me as someone who messes up often.”
“I do,” she said. “All the time.”
“Why’d you leave it?”
She looked at him. Her eyes serious now. “Because you looked like someone who needed to read it.”
Jason didn’t answer. He didn’t know how to.
Talia glanced around. The hallway was starting to clear out. Lunch was coming.
“You eat alone?” she asked.
Jason shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“Me too.”
They walked out together, across the quad, to a quiet spot behind the bleachers. Nobody came back there during lunch. The school didn’t bother to keep it clean. Old nets. Broken cones. A few rusted benches.
Jason sat on the ground. So did she.
They didn’t eat. Just talked.
Kind of.
“Where’d you move from?” Jason asked.
Talia picked at the grass. “Don’t remember.”
He raised a brow. “That bad?”
She nodded slowly.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he said. “I was just... curious.”
Talia sighed. “It wasn’t one place. My mom moves a lot. We’re never anywhere long.”
Jason leaned back against the bench. “That sucks.”
“It is what it is.”
“Do you like it here?”
She gave a half-smile. “Does anyone?”
Jason laughed. “Fair.”
They sat in silence for a while. But it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Then she said, “You and the cheerleader still a thing?”
Jason blinked. “Jade?”
Talia nodded, eyes still on the grass.
Jason thought for a second. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked much lately.”
“She seems... loud.”
Jason laughed again. “Yeah. That’s one word for her.”
Talia finally looked up at him. “You seem quieter than her.”
“I’m quieter than most people.”
She tilted her head. “You don’t talk like someone who gets cheered for every Friday night.”
“I don’t feel like him most days,” Jason admitted.
Talia didn’t ask who “him” was.
She didn’t have to.
Later that afternoon, practice was light. Mostly shooting drills. Jason felt better than usual. His shots were falling. His body moved easier. His mind was still on that conversation behind the bleachers.
Sean jogged beside him during a water break.
“Yo. You’re back,” he said. “You were off last week.”
Jason grinned. “I’m trying.”
“You see Jade today?” Sean asked.
Jason’s smile faded. “No. Why?”
Sean shrugged. “She was asking about you earlier. Thought y’all were fighting or something.”
Jason didn’t answer. He drank his water slowly.
Sean clapped him on the back. “Whatever, man. You good. Focus on the game. Girls come and go.”
Jason nodded. “Yeah. True.”
In the locker room, someone brought up a party happening that weekend. Jade’s name came up. Sean said he might stop by.
Jason didn’t commit.
When he got home, he didn’t check his phone. He just threw it on the bed and sat down on the floor. His mom was at work. The apartment was quiet.
He thought about Talia.
He didn’t know why, but he did.
He thought about her voice. Her calm. The way she didn’t push him to be loud. She just listened.
His phone buzzed.
He picked it up.
It was Jade.
you comin to the party friday? or are you too busy bein sad lol
Jason stared at the message.
He didn’t respond.
The next morning, something was different.
People stared at him in the hall. Not long stares. Just quick ones. Whispers followed him. Smiles that didn’t feel like smiles.
He made it to his locker and froze.
Taped to the door were three photos.
His face. His bed. His bare shoulder.
Talia’s hair. Her hand. Her lips.
They looked like they were sleeping together. Naked. Exposed.
Jason ripped the pictures down fast. His heart racing.
He turned, scanning the hallway. People were looking. Pointing. Laughing behind hands.
Jade stood near the water fountain with her friends. She made eye contact and smirked.
Sean was beside her. He didn’t laugh. Didn’t smirk. Just looked confused. Then turned away.
Jason crumpled the pictures and shoved them into his pocket.
His throat felt dry. His head hurt.
Then he saw her.
Talia.
Standing down the hallway. Alone.
She saw the photos in his hand. Saw his face. Her eyes widened.
Then she turned. And walked away.
Jason dropped his books and ran after her.
- Writer
