Aria opened her locker and froze. Something inside shimmered red under the harsh light. She pushed aside her textbooks and gym uniform and saw it. A cream-colored envelope sealed with glossy crimson wax lay there.
"What on earth…" she whispered.
The handwriting across the front was neat and flowing. Her name. But it was not her handwriting.
"Aria, are you okay?" her friend Jenna called from a few lockers down.
"Yeah," Aria said quickly, though her voice sounded uncertain even to her. "Just something weird."
Jenna leaned over. "Who sent that?"
"I don't know," Aria said. "No one is supposed to leave stuff in lockers. The school checks for that."
Jenna shrugged. "Maybe it is from a secret admirer?"
Aria managed a small laugh, but it did not reach her eyes. The hallway noise faded in her ears. The chatter, the footsteps, the clang of metal doors. All she could hear was her heartbeat, steady and loud.
She reached toward the envelope and then stopped. For a second, it felt like someone was watching her. She looked around, but everyone seemed busy with their own lockers.
"Are you going to open it or not?" Jenna asked.
Aria swallowed hard. "Yeah," she murmured, though she was not sure she meant it.
Her fingers itched to back away, to close the locker and act like she had never seen it. She shook her head. "No. I have to see," she muttered.
Her fingers itched to back away, to close the locker and act like she had never seen it. She shook her head. "No. I have to see," she muttered.
Her hand hovered over the envelope. "Okay, just one peek," she told herself. Her fingers trembled as she peeled away the white sticker. "Why is my hand shaking so much?" she asked quietly, almost to the envelope itself.
A voice called from down the hall. "Jenna! Hey, Jenna!"
Jenna, who had been standing beside her, turned immediately. "That's me," she said, and before Aria could react, she grabbed her bag. "I'll catch up later!" Jenna called over her shoulder and ran toward the voice, leaving Aria alone in front of the locker.
Aria's heart pounded. She stared at the envelope in her hand. The hallway seemed to grow quieter, the chatter and footsteps fading until it felt like she was in a world all by herself. "It's just me now… just me and this," she whispered.
She lifted the envelope carefully. "It feels so… fragile," she said. Her thumb brushed the crimson wax, and she gasped. "The wax… it's glowing?" Her eyes narrowed as she examined the symbol pressed into it. A thin vine curled in a circle around a small eye. "No… no, I've seen this before," she whispered, her voice catching. "In my dream… this dream."
Her fingers traced the vine over and over. "What secret are you hiding? Tell me," she said aloud, as if the envelope could answer. She pressed it closer to her chest. "I… I have to open it," she whispered, though a shiver ran down her spine.
Her mind raced. "Am I ready for this? I have to know. I can't walk away." Her heartbeat echoed in her ears. "Whatever is inside… it's mine now. I have to see."
Her heartbeat raced as she carefully lifted the flap of her locker. Inside lay a pale note. The paper was smooth, and the handwriting neat, deliberate.
"I need to talk to you. Come to the old oak tree after the final bell. – K."
Aria's stomach twisted. "K? Who even…?" She traced the small vine drawn beneath the letter with her finger. "Where have I seen this before?"
She held the note closer to her eyes. "Is this some kind of prank?" Her voice was barely a whisper. She looked around the empty hallway. "No one's here… perfect timing for a joke, I guess."
"But… what if it's serious? What if someone actually wants to talk to me?" Her mind raced. "Okay, think. Who would know I'd be in my locker at this exact time?"
Her friend Jenna appeared at the end of the hall, waving. "Hey, Aria! Did you find out what was in your locker?"
Aria quickly stuffed the note into her pocket. "Oh, nothing… really. Just books," she said, forcing a smile.
Jenna squinted. "Uh-huh. Nothing at all?"
"Nothing at all," Aria insisted, her voice tight. She laughed nervously. "Just the usual."
Jenna laughed. "Sure, if you say so. But you look weird. Nervous or something?"
Aria shook her head. "No, just tired, I guess."
Jenna tilted her head. "Mmhmm. Okay. But if you start sneaking off after school, I'll know why!"
Aria forced another laugh. "Very funny." But inside, her mind kept spinning. Who was K? Why this note? What would happen at the old oak tree?
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I'll find out," she whispered. "After school… I'll find out."
Aria's mind flicked to the boy by her locker earlier. Dark hair nearly hiding his eyes, a feather pendant on his necklace catching the light. He had stood there after most students left, just watching, then vanished down the hall.
Could it have been him?
A shiver ran down her spine. She shoved the thought aside, snapped her locker shut, and slid the note into her pocket.
"Aria! Come on, lunch is starting!" a voice called from the end of the hall.
"Be right there!" she called back, trying to sound normal.
The school loudspeaker buzzed, and suddenly the hallway exploded with laughter, shouting, and the slam of lockers as students rushed to the cafeteria.
Aria pushed through the crowded hallway, clutching her books tight. By the time she reached Algebra class, her mind was spinning. She slipped into her seat near the window, trying to ignore the hum of chatter around her.
"Good morning, class," Mrs. Tran began. "Today we will continue with quadratic equations."
Aria stared at the board. The numbers seemed to blur together.
"Aria, can you solve this one for me?" Mrs. Tran asked, pointing to the first problem.
Aria blinked. "Uh… maybe later?" she mumbled.
"Later won't help," Mrs. Tran said kindly. "Try it with me. Step by step."
Aria took a deep breath. "Okay… I think it's x equals… um… five?"
"Not quite," Mrs. Tran said, smiling. "Let's work through it together."
As Mrs. Tran explained, Aria nodded, but her thoughts drifted again. The sunlight made patterns on the floor. She wondered why everything felt so different today, as if the world had paused for a moment.
"Aria, are you listening?" Mrs. Tran asked.
"Yes, I'm… I'm listening," Aria replied. She tried to focus, but the numbers and letters seemed distant, like a language she almost remembered.
All she could really hear was her own quiet humming as the same question repeated in her head again and again.
"Who is K? What does that even mean?"
She tried to shake it off, but the curiosity would not leave her alone. Time seemed to move slowly, each minute stretching longer than the last. When the bell finally rang and the class came to an end, Aria looked down at her notebook. The pages were completely blank, not a single line of notes written.
Lunchtime buzzed in the cafeteria. Students laughed and clattered trays across tables.
"Hey, Aria, want to stop by the library with me?" Lily asked, smiling.
Aria's lips curved faintly. "Not right now," she whispered, her voice shaky.
"Are you okay?" Lily pressed.
"I… I'll be fine," Aria muttered, slipping away. Her shoes clicked on the hallway floor.
She pushed open the restroom door and ducked inside. Once in a stall, she closed it and leaned against the wall. Her heart raced.
She took a slow breath. "K… the old oak tree?" she murmured to herself.
Lunch dragged on forever. Aria stared at the clock as seconds crawled. Students laughed, chairs scraped, trays clattered, but she couldn't focus. Finally, the bell rang. "Yes!" she breathed, grabbing her books.
The courtyard was quiet except for the wind in the old oak tree. Its bare branches stretched upward, and the air smelled faintly of damp soil. Aria smiled, heart racing, ready for whatever came next.
"Is someone there?" she called.
A figure shifted against the oak tree.
Then she saw him. A single figure leaned against the trunk of the old oak tree. Her breath caught in her throat as her heart gave a sudden leap. He was real.
"It's… you?" she whispered.
He looked up, and her heart skipped. "Yes. I'm here."
"Wow," she breathed.
He smiled, gentle and easy. "I thought you might not come."
Their eyes locked. The courtyard, the cold wind, the long shadows all disappeared. "I wouldn't miss it," she said.
For a moment, it was just them, beneath the tree that had seen it all.
"Kai," she said before she could stop herself. The name slipped out of her mouth as if it had been waiting on her tongue all along. Her eyes grew wide with surprise. The letter she had just opened had been signed with a single letter, K. Now, standing before her, was the boy who seemed to fit that name perfectly.
"Kai Silver," he said, his voice calm and confident as he stretched out his hand toward her. "Sorry if I scared you earlier. I thought you dropped this."
Aria's eyes followed his hand to the envelope he was holding. Her heart thudded softly in her chest. "Did I?" she asked, her voice uncertain. Thoughts rushed through her mind. If Kai hadn't left the letter in her locker, then how had it gotten there?
Kai gave a small smile and gently tossed the wax-sealed envelope against the metal door of her locker. "You've got my note," he said with a playful look. "I put it there myself." His golden eyes met hers, warm and unwavering. "Do you trust me?"
Aria stood still for a moment, feeling both curious and cautious. Something about him felt familiar, as though she had known him long before that moment, yet everything about the situation was new and strange.
"Fine," Aria said, trying to sound calm. "After school."
Kai smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting in a way that made his eyes look kind. "Good. I'll be under the oak tree."
She gave a quick nod. "I'll be there."
His lips twitched again, almost as if he was trying not to laugh. Aria wanted to laugh too, though her chest still felt tight and her breathing uneven.