The first day of the new school year felt heavy for Bella, as if the place remembered how she used to feel...small, quiet, alone. But Yuri's gentle voice calling her name made the hallway feel a little less intimidating.
"Bella! Over here!"
Yuri's smile was like a like a bit of light breaking through her morning. Soon, Bella met Yuna, her twin sister, who, though in a different class, had the same warmth that seemed to draw Bella in. For the first time, her days didn't feel as heavy anymore; she wasn't completely alone.
Then came Rose ...the new girl with an easy laugh... the kind of confidence that made people turn their heads without even realizing. She quickly became close to Yuri, forming a tight trio. Bella watched from the sidelines at first, feeling a mixture of awe and quiet worry. She liked Yuri and Yuna, but she feared being left out, as if Rose's brightness would swallow her smaller, quieter light.
School days were a mix of laughter, teasing...all those school moments where you don't know what to say or where to stand. Bella learned to navigate the careful balance between saying too much and saying nothing at all. Rose had a way of making Bella feel seen yet unseen .... she spoke to her warmly, but sometimes Bella couldn't help noticing how easily Rose captured Yuri's full attention.
And then there was Leo. Popular, cheerful, and effortlessly likable, he had a smile that seemed to make everyone's day better. At first, Bella barely noticed him. He was part of the background, someone to watch from afar. But slowly, through shared assignments and brief exchanges in the hallways, slowly, something small started between them. Nothing big. Just...something but quietly real to her.
Bella learned something crucial in those days: friendships could shift like sand, trust could be fragile, and feelings her own or others were rarely straightforward. Every smile, every glance, every whispered word carried weight. And though she didn't yet know it, these early threads of friendship and quiet affection would become tangled in ways that could break her heart or change it forever.