"I like Lewis."
The words came back to young Aria like a quiet punch to the face. She didn't know why she felt the way she did—but she did.
"What?" Young Aria said, completely shocked. They were standing right in front of her house.
"I guess that's very shocking, huh?" Marie said softly, her voice already sounding sad.
"No, I mean… kind of," young Aria replied.
"I know," Marie continued, "but I didn't even know I was capable of feeling this way for anyone—let alone the quietest, most mysterious boy in class."
"Marie. I'm so happy for you," young Aria said.
"Why?" Marie let out a broken laugh. "It's not like he knows who I am. Or even cares. I don't even think he knows I exist."
Tears filled Marie's eyes as young Aria opened the door and they walked inside.
"Wow… that's brutal," young Aria said gently. "Tell me—when did you realize you felt this way?"
They walked toward the sofa and sat down.
"During the assignment," Marie said. "He just sat there, unbothered. Like he was in a completely different world. From the start, I wanted to see that world… feel it."
Her face crumpled as tears streamed down.
"And when he got chosen, I wanted to be selected too—so at least I'd be by his side. But your name got called instead."
"Marie… that's a lot to carry," young Aria said quietly. "Why didn't you tell me from the start?"
"I wasn't sure what I was feeling," Marie admitted. "I thought it was just admiration. But the more I saw him, the more I saw him with you, the more I heard his name… I realized it was more than that and."
Her voice broke.
"And…?"
"And when Mrs. Jennifer taught us about love," Marie said through sobs, "I always found myself staring at him. Him—Lewis."
She cried harder now.
"But every time I stared at him, I caught him staring at you. The day I saw you both lock eyes… it felt like my heart was being stabbed a million times."
"I… I had no idea," young Aria whispered.
"Of course you didn't," Marie snapped softly. "You were too focused on trying to be remembered to notice that I was slowly being erased from your mind. You didn't see that I was deeply in love with Lewis but you know me equally as I know myself."
"Is that why you didn't want me to peek at his paper?" young Aria asked. "And why you always seem to appear whenever I'm with him?"
"Yes!" Marie cried. "Yes, Aria—yes to all of it. But I don't stand a chance with him."
"Of course you do," young Aria said firmly. "All you need is a little help—so he can really see you, so you both can talk and I can help."
The memory faded.
It was replaced by another—
Young Aria sat alone on her bed, replaying every word Marie had said.