The Quiet Things He Does
638 Words
The next morning, I arrived earlier than usual.
I didn’t want everyone staring at me again, asking questions I wasn’t ready to answer.
The classroom was still half-empty when I walked in. Some students were sleeping on their desks; others were eating breakfast they secretly brought.
And there he was.
Liam.
Same seat. Same posture. Earphones in. Hood halfway over his head like he wanted to disappear.
He didn’t notice me at first.
Or maybe he did but pretended not to.
I quietly took my seat beside him.
The chair made a soft scraping sound against the floor, and his eyes flicked toward me—just for a second—before he looked away again.
I opened my notebook.
The same pen he lent me yesterday was still inside.
I placed it carefully between us.
“You forgot to take this back,” I whispered.
He didn’t move.
I waited a few seconds, then gently pushed the pen nearer to his side.
He glanced at it. Then, without saying a word, he pushed it back to my side.
I blinked. “You’re letting me keep it?”
No answer—just the slightest shrug, barely visible.
He was confusing, but in a strangely… nice way.
Before I could say anything, a loud voice echoed across the room.
“AYAAAA!”
A girl rushed toward me. “Grabe, you’re really here now! I heard the rumors!”
It was Kyla, a girl from my old section who liked chismis a little too much.
“So bakit ka na-transfer?” she asked loudly, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
I froze.
My stomach tightened.
Not this again.
“Personal reasons,” I said quietly.
“Awtsu,” she said, clearly wanting more tea.
Then she leaned closer. “Omg, seatmate mo si Liam?!”
I forced a small smile. “Yes.”
“Yikes. Ingat ka. Weird ‘yan. Ayaw makipag-usap kahit kanino.”
I glanced at him. He didn’t react, but something in his jaw tightened—as if he heard.
Kyla kept talking. “Last year pa ‘yan ganyan. Loner. Trouble maker daw. Sinuntok ‘yung—”
“Okay na, Kyla.” My voice came out firm without meaning to.
She blinked. “Oh… sorry.”
She walked away awkwardly, and I slowly turned to Liam.
He was still staring at the window, but his hand…
It was clenched under the desk.
Maybe he wasn’t ignoring the whole world.
Maybe he was just tired of how the world talked about him.
The bell rang soon after.
Our teacher entered and announced a surprise group activity.
“Sitmates will be partners,” she said.
My stomach dropped.
Liam slowly turned his head toward me, expression unreadable.
Partners.
For the first time, he actually looked at me for more than a second.
Not angry.
Not annoyed.
Just… curious. And maybe a little nervous.
“Is… is that okay with you?” I asked softly.
He didn’t speak.
Instead, he nodded. Once. Small. Almost shy.
We moved our desks together, and the whole class reacted instantly.
“Oh, good luck, Aya.”
“Si Liam talaga partner niya?”
“He won’t help her.”
I ignored them.
The teacher began explaining the activity, but before she finished, Liam quietly slid his notebook toward me.
I looked at him, confused.
He pointed at a page—he already wrote half of the answers.
I blinked. “You… did this in advance?”
He nodded again.
“You’re… actually good at this subject?”
He shrugged, eyes dropping to the desk.
So he wasn’t lazy.
He wasn’t dumb.
He just didn’t talk.
I smiled without meaning to. “Thank you. This helps a lot.”
For the first time ever, he met my eyes again.
And this time… he didn’t look away.
- Writer
