The next day felt like a test she couldn't pass. Every minute burned on her skin. The morning was too bright, the classroom too loud, and yet she heard nothing.
She had barely slept, and still her eyes automatically searched for him as soon as she entered the room.
There he was. Up front by the window, head resting on his hand, looking outside, as if the world beyond the glass made more sense than anything in here.
No word. No glance. No trace of what once had been.
Lina sat down, tried to control the trembling in her fingers, absentmindedly drawing circles in her notebook.
Every movement felt as if she had to prove to herself that she was still there.
Why was he acting as if she were invisible?
The teacher spoke, voices murmured, paper rustled, someone laughed. But everything was muffled, as if she were underwater.
When the bell rang for break, she felt like she needed to breathe – and yet no air came.
---
