"she's up to something", Rose muttered, eye narrowing. " I can feel it " Ella smirked " Maybe we should find out what it is" Sarah finally turned, stepping away from the court the Shadows of the trees flickering across her face like broken glass.
At a home, Sarah didn't speak a word. She sat by her window, the fading sunlight brushing against her cheek as she pulled out a sheet of paper. Her pencil danced without permission lines curving into familiar shapes, soft smiles, gently eyes, strands of hair falling perfectly Kim again.
The only place he ever truly saw her was in her drawings. She smiled softly to herself and slid the paper into her backpack with a sigh. But in her rush, iot slipped....not into the zippered pocket, but between books and notes, forgotten left behind.
The next morning was quiet. Too quiet. Sarah searched her backpack at her desk before class, her brows folding.
Where's the drawing?
Had I misplaced it?
She draw again that night. And again. And again. Each new image of Kim felt like therapy until she begen placing them in her locker, sealed tight behind a new code only she knew No more pranks. No more ruined books. She had locked her world behind number and steel. But Ella and Rose had already seen her fingers move across the keypad.
Posters lines the school walls. Red paper hearts, Pink balloons, Shiny confetti littered the floor. Valentine's week had begun. Girls whispered excitedly. Boys pretended not to care but everyone was watching everyone except Sarah, who watched only Kim always Kim.
He hadn't picked anyone yet rumors said he was still deciding. Maybe..... maybe there was a chance. With trembling fingers, Sarah wrote a small note: "Will you be my valentine?" She held it in her hand all day, trying to be brave by the time she found Kim, it was too late he was standing near the art room laughing lightly. Rose was beside him, her arms brushing his as she held out something wrapped in red foil. "You're my valentine now", she said sweetly. Her voice was innocent. But her eyes? Victory Kim hesitated. His smile faltered but he said nothing
He didn't say Yes
He didn't say No
But he didn't stop her
From the Shadows, Sarah saw everything her note slipped from her hand and fluttered to the ground like a broken wing. She turned away but Rose and Ella weren't finished they had her drawings they had the code to her locker. And soon, the entire school would know Every line she ever drew every feeling she tried to hide.
And somewhere, far away in the farm a scarecrow's head turned slightly though no wind moved. Sarah walked home in silence, The house was quiet when she got back. Her parents were not home yet again. No surprise there. A tear drop down her cheek and her started sobbing for a while then she dropped her bag, stretched, and headed to the kitchen. Maybe she could cook something. Something warm. Maybe soup her mother would like that if she come home early enough to taste it.
Afterwards, she found herself reaching for her sketchbook, the same one that had become a private garden of feelings she couldn't speak. She turned to a fresh page, her pencil already dancing as the lines began to form his jawline, the way his eyes slanted slightly when he laughed, how the collar of his school shirt curved around his neck. Drawing him felt like lighting a candle In a dark room. She didn't realize how late it had gotten until she heard her mom's key at the door.she quickly closed the book and shoved it into her bag.
The next day, something strange happened. Rose and Ella were.....nice too nice they greeted her with awkward smiles in the hallway offered to carry her books complimented her braids. Sarah blinked, unsure how to react. Apart of her wanted to push them away, but another part.....the tired part, the lonely part, wanted to believe it was real. Even if just for a little while the came the invitation "Sarah," Rose said sweetly one afternoon, " We wanted to say sorry for everything. We were stupid, and mean, and you didn't deserve any of it " Sarah stared at them. Ella nodded, as if the words were true and not painted " We want you to came to the Valentine please? It'll be fun", Ella added. "We even have a surprise planned for you..... something really special to show how sorry we are" Kim passed by at that moment, his laughter echoing in the hallway as he high-fived one of his friends.
Sarah looked down she had already told herself she wasn't to see that but the way they looked at her smiling, eye, wide, hopeful...she nodded slowly okay", she whispered.