Episode 2: The Eyes That Stayed
447 Words
Ehi noticed it on a Monday.
At first, she thought it was nothing.
Just another day.
Another class.
Another quiet seat at the back.
She kept her head down.
Opened her notebook.
Wrote the date.
But something felt… different.
A pause.
A shift.
Like the air had changed.
She felt it again.
Eyes.
Someone was looking at her.
Ehi didn’t look up.
She never did.
Looking up meant being seen.
And being seen never ended well.
So she kept writing.
Line after line.
Even when her pen stopped making sense.
The feeling didn’t leave.
It stayed.
Steady.
Unmoving.
Watching.
Her heart began to beat faster.
Not loud.
Just enough to make her uneasy.
Who would look at her?
No one ever did.
The teacher called her name.
“Ehi.”
Her hand froze.
The class went quiet.
Slowly… she stood.
“Yes, ma.”
“Read the answer.”
Ehi looked down at her notebook.
The words blurred.
She swallowed.
Then read.
Soft. Careful. Almost invisible.
A few students snickered.
Someone whispered.
She heard it.
She always did.
But something was different this time.
The teacher didn’t interrupt her.
No one cut her off.
No one rushed her.
And the room…
was still.
Ehi finished reading.
Silence followed.
For one second.
Two.
“Good,” the teacher said.
Ehi blinked.
She wasn’t sure she heard right.
“Sit down.”
She sat.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like something might break if she moved too fast.
And then—
she felt it again.
Those eyes.
Still on her.
This time…
she couldn’t ignore it.
Ehi lifted her head.
Just a little.
Not enough for anyone to notice.
Just enough to see.
And then—
their eyes met.
Her breath caught.
He didn’t look away.
No smirk.
No whisper.
No judgment.
Just… watching.
Like he had been watching all along.
Ehi quickly looked down.
Her fingers tightened around her pen.
Why?
Why was he looking at her?
The bell rang.
Chairs, moved.
Voices returned.
Everything went back to normal.
Except it didn’t.
Because as Ehi stood to leave…
She felt it one last time.
Closer now.
And then—
A voice behind her.
“Hey.”
Ehi froze.
No one ever said that to her.
She didn’t turn.
She couldn’t.
“Wait.”
Her heart pounded.
Slowly…
she turned.
And saw him.
Up close.
The same eyes.
The ones that didn’t leave.
“Do I know you?” he asked.
Ehi shook her head.
He studied her face.
Like he was trying to remember something.
Then he said it.
“I think I’ve seen you before.”
Ehi didn’t answer.
Because she knew—
He hadn’t.
Not really.
Not until now.
- Writer
