Chapter Four: Almost Speaking
It happened on a Wednesday afternoon.
The classroom was unusually quiet as students worked on an assignment. The only sounds were pens scratching against paper and the occasional cough.
Feifei was focused, her handwriting neat and controlled.
A soft clatter broke the silence.
A pen rolled across the floor and stopped near her shoe.
She looked up.
Kael was leaning down slightly, his expression unreadable.
Without thinking, Feifei picked up the pen and held it out to him.
"Here," she said softly.
Their fingers brushed as he took it.
"Thanks," he replied.
That was it.
One word. One second.
Yet Feifei felt it linger long after he turned back to his desk.
She stared at her paper, but her mind refused to settle. Her heartbeat felt louder than the classroom.
Why does that feel… different?
At lunch, she sat alone under her usual tree. She had just opened her food when a shadow fell across her notebook.
She looked up.
Kael stood there, hands in his pockets.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked.
Feifei blinked, caught off guard. She shook her head slowly.
"No."
He sat down.
They ate in silence.
It wasn't awkward. Not exactly. It was… calm.
After a while, Kael spoke again.
"You're quiet."
Feifei hesitated. Then nodded. "I guess."
He looked at her for a moment. "That's not a bad thing."
Her chest tightened unexpectedly.
No one had ever said that before.
When the bell rang, they stood up at the same time.
They didn't exchange numbers.
Didn't make plans.
Didn't promise anything.
But as Feifei walked away, she realized something had shifted.
For the first time in a long while, someone had noticed her.
And that scared her more than being invisible.