The school bell rang, signaling the end of class, and was followed by the sound of chairs scraping against the floor. I walked out into the hallway filled with the laughter of my friends.
Today felt like any other day... and yet, it was different. Just this morning, I saw Ethan leaning against a wall near the student duty desk, looking right at me in a way I couldn't interpret.
Maybe... he was just looking past me.
Or maybe... he was actually looking at me.
But honestly, I don't dare guess anymore. I've been down that road once, and it taught me that hope is like a balloon—if you let it go, it can float away in the blink of an eye.
To tell my story properly, I have to go back to a year ago. Back then, I was a very ordinary girl—so ordinary, in fact, that I sometimes thought no one would even notice if I disappeared from school.
My looks? Plain. I didn't really take care of myself my hair was often messy, and sometimes I was too lazy to even tie it up. I'd wear the same gym shirt all week, and my grades were nothing special. I just studied hard enough to pass.
Then one day... I started talking to Ethan.
He was the boy everyone at school knew well—handsome, smart, great at sports, and with a smile that could melt anyone's heart.
We started talking because of some small, random coincidence. Back then, he looked at me a lot and would sometimes sneak a smile, making my heart pound every time.
But I kept telling myself not to think too much into it. It was probably just his basic personality or him being polite.
Then, all of a sudden, we stopped talking. It wasn't because we fought, but because the kids in our class started teasing us. I pulled back and went quiet, and it wasn't long before Ethan got a girlfriend.
It hurt a little.
But strangely, he broke up with her after only a few weeks. Hope started to stir in my heart again, and one day, I confessed to him that I liked him.
He was silent. He didn't say anything at all.
It was from his friends that I learned Ethan is a hard person to get close to and talks to a lot of people.
That was the day I decided to change myself.
I started taking better care of myself, changed my hairstyle, and dressed more neatly, from my clothes to my shoes. I also tried to study harder to get better grades and started joining school activities.
The result? I changed so much that some people in my class barely recognized me.
Including Lucas...
He's Ethan's best friend, and he was the person I talked to even before I talked to Ethan. We used to tease each other back and forth and became close without even realizing it.
And sometimes... I secretly wonder if Lucas might have liked me back then.
But I'll tell you his story later.
Because my story isn't just about Ethan or Lucas. There are four other guys who used to like me, but my heart has never stopped looking at Ethan.