CHAPTER 8: THE MEMORY WALL
The announcement came during second period.
The loudspeaker crackled softly before the principal's voice echoed across the classrooms.
"Attention students. Next Friday will be our annual Spring Cultural Festival."
The classroom immediately erupted.
Kai looked up from his notebook.
"Oh no."
Mira gasped dramatically.
"Oh yes."
Jaden closed his textbook calmly.
"Let the chaos begin."
At the front of the class, their teacher continued explaining.
"Each class will organize stalls, activities, or performances. You will work in groups."
Liora leaned forward in her chair.
Evren noticed the look immediately.
"Don't," he muttered.
She turned slowly.
"Don't what?"
"I know that face."
Kai leaned over from the desk behind them.
"What face?"
Evren answered flatly.
"The 'I just got an idea' face."
Mira suddenly spun around in her seat.
"I love ideas."
Jaden sighed quietly.
"That's concerning."
Their teacher began writing on the board.
"Group assignments will remain the same as your project teams."
Kai dropped his head onto the desk.
"We're doomed."
Mira clapped once.
"Okay team, brainstorming session!"
"We're still in class," Jaden reminded her.
But Mira had already turned to Liora.
"What are we doing?"
Liora tapped her pen against her notebook thoughtfully.
Then she said one word.
"Photos."
Evren leaned back in his chair.
"I knew it."
Kai squinted at her.
"What kind of photos?"
Liora smiled.
"A memory wall."
Mira's eyes widened instantly.
"That sounds adorable."
Jaden nodded slightly.
"Explain."
Liora grabbed her notebook and quickly sketched something.
"A photo booth where students take Polaroids."
She drew a large board beside it.
"And they pin them here with small notes."
Kai tilted his head.
"Notes?"
"Like memories," she said. "Or messages."
Mira leaned over the desk.
"This is cute."
Jaden crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"It's simple. That's good."
Evren looked at Liora.
"You're going to make us do all the work."
She smiled sweetly.
"Team effort."
Kai pointed at Evren.
"He's doing most of it."
Evren didn't argue.
After school, the classroom transformed into a construction zone.
Desks had been pushed aside.
Colored papers, markers, ribbons, and tape were scattered everywhere.
Mira was sitting cross-legged on the floor cutting heart shapes.
Kai was holding a roll of tape with the expression of someone deeply betrayed by life.
Jaden was organizing materials into neat piles.
Evren was assembling the wooden frame for the memory board.
And Liora was standing on a chair.
Evren looked up immediately.
"Lio."
"What?"
"Why are you standing on that?"
"Because the board is tall."
He sighed.
"You're going to fall."
"I will not fall."
Kai pointed upward.
"She's definitely going to fall."
Mira waved scissors in the air.
"Don't jinx it."
Liora reached higher, trying to attach a string of fairy lights across the top of the board.
"Almost…"
Evren stood up from the floor.
"Lio."
"I said I'm fi—"
The chair shifted slightly.
For one second, everything happened too fast.
The chair leg slipped.
Liora lost her balance.
And the next moment—
She was falling.
Evren moved before anyone else could even react.
His hand grabbed her arm instantly.
The other caught her around the waist.
The momentum pulled her forward—
Straight into his arms.
Silence.
The chair clattered softly to the floor beside them.
For a moment, the entire classroom froze.
Liora blinked.
Evren's grip tightened slightly to steady her.
They were standing very close.
Closer than either of them expected.
Her hands had instinctively grabbed his shoulders.
His arm was still around her waist.
The room felt strangely quiet.
Liora looked up.
Evren looked down.
Neither of them spoke.
The moment stretched longer than it should have.
Their eyes stayed locked for a few seconds.
Liora's hair had fallen slightly across her face.
Evren noticed.
But he didn't move.
Behind them, Mira, Kai, and Jaden stood watching.
None of them said anything.
Not a joke.
Not a comment.
Just silence.
Finally, Liora blinked again.
"…Ren."
Evren snapped out of it.
"Yes."
"You can let go now."
He immediately stepped back.
Right.
"Sorry."
She adjusted her balance.
"I told you I wouldn't fall."
Kai finally broke the silence.
"You literally fell."
"That doesn't count."
Mira stood up slowly.
"That was very dramatic."
Jaden nodded.
"Extremely cinematic."
Liora picked up the fallen chair quickly.
"Nothing happened."
Kai crossed his arms.
"Something definitely happened."
Evren turned back toward the memory board.
"Lights are crooked."
Liora climbed back onto the chair.
Evren immediately grabbed the back of it.
She looked down.
"…You're holding it now?"
"Yes."
"Good idea."
An hour later, the booth finally started to take shape.
The large board stood against the wall.
Fairy lights glowed softly across the top.
Colorful pins were arranged neatly in rows.
Mira stepped back to admire their work.
"This looks amazing."
Kai nodded reluctantly.
"Okay yeah… it's actually cool."
Jaden examined the structure.
"Functional."
Liora lifted her camera.
Click.
The flash lit up the classroom briefly.
Mira turned.
"Another photo?"
"Of course."
The Polaroid slowly printed.
Liora watched the image appear.
The half-finished booth.
Scattered decorations.
Four exhausted friends standing around it.
She smiled softly.
Evren glanced at the photo.
"You're keeping that one too?"
"Obviously."
Kai pointed at the board.
"We should test it."
"Test it how?" Mira asked.
"First memory."
Mira immediately grabbed a pen.
She wrote something quickly on a small paper and pinned it to the board.
Kai leaned forward.
"What did you write?"
Mira read it proudly.
"'Kai complains too much.'"
Kai gasped.
"This wall is biased."
Jaden took the pen next.
He wrote calmly and pinned his note.
Kai leaned in again.
"What did you write?"
Jaden read it.
"'Kai complains too much.'"
"THIS IS BULLYING."
Liora laughed quietly.
Evren shook his head.
"This is going exactly how I expected."
Mira suddenly snapped her fingers.
"Oh!"
"What?" Kai asked suspiciously.
"We should perform something too."
Jaden looked interested.
"Like what?"
"A choir!"
Kai blinked.
"A choir?"
"Yes!"
She pointed at the five of them.
"Group performance."
Evren immediately said one word.
"No."
Mira ignored him.
"We'll sing."
Kai pointed at himself.
"I cannot sing."
Jaden shrugged.
"That has never stopped anyone."
Liora tilted her head thoughtfully.
"A choir could actually be fun."
Evren stared at her.
"Lio."
"Yes?"
"You just volunteered us."
She smiled.
"Team effort."
Kai groaned loudly.
"This team is ruining my life."
Mira clapped excitedly.
"Rehearsals start tomorrow!"
Evren rubbed his forehead.
"We're doomed."
Liora lifted her camera again.
Click.
Another memory captured.
And somewhere on the wall behind them, the very first notes of the Memory Wall had already begun.