One afternoon, Anna, Emily, and Sophia were sitting together during recess.
Sophia looked unusually quiet.
"Why are you so serious?" Emily asked.
Sophia hesitated. "Can I tell you something?"
Anna nodded.
"I think… Oliver likes me."
Anna's heart skipped for a second.
Emily blinked. "Really? But he doesn't even talk to you."
"I know," Sophia said quickly. "That's why it's confusing. He doesn't talk to me much… but sometimes I feel like he looks at me."
Anna froze inside.
Looking.
Her mind immediately remembered all those stolen glances.
But Oliver had never really talked to Sophia.
He never asked her for homework.
He never teased her the way he teased Anna.
Still, Anna stayed quiet.
"And…" Sophia added softly, "I think I'm starting to like him."
Emily looked surprised. "But he barely speaks to you!"
Sophia shrugged shyly. "I don't know… it's just a feeling."
Anna forced a small smile.
"Maybe you're overthinking," she said gently. "Sometimes we misunderstand things."
Sophia looked unsure. "Maybe…"
Anna took a deep breath.
Inside, she wanted to say, He teases me. He talks to me. He looks at me.
But she didn't.
What if she was wrong?
What if she had imagined everything?
Instead, she said softly, "If you really like him… just observe more. Don't assume too fast."
She chose to hide her feelings.
Because she wasn't even sure if they were real.
And because sometimes, silence feels safer than speaking the truth. 💕