Chapter 3 More recollections
EIGHT MONTHS AGO
Tobias
People always assumed I loved the attention.
Maybe because I never bothered correcting them.
Maybe because when you walked into Clever High every morning with half the parking lot turning to stare, pretending not to notice eventually became easier than acknowledging it. After four years, it had simply become part of my routine. Conversations paused for a second before picking back up again. Heads turned. Someone always whispered my name. A few girls smiled a little too brightly whenever I passed. The football team nodded in greeting. Teachers sighed before I’d even opened my mouth, already expecting trouble. None of it excited me anymore. None of it embarrassed me either. It was just… noise. Familiar noise.
The low growl of my motorcycle echoed through the nearly empty streets as I leaned into the final bend leading toward school. Cold morning air slipped beneath my helmet, carrying the scent of damp asphalt, fresh grass and the faint smoke drifting from houses where people were only just beginning their day. Autumn had finally settled over Montmore, painting the trees lining the streets in brilliant shades of gold and burnt orange. Leaves scattered across the road beneath my tires before disappearing behind me. I preferred summer. Summer meant football. Longer training sessions. Evening workouts beneath an unforgiving sun. Summer also meant spending less time inside the Thomas mansion where my father somehow managed to suck every ounce of oxygen out of every room he entered.
The school gates came into view, already crowded with students spilling out of cars and buses, backpacks hanging carelessly over their shoulders as they wandered toward the main building. The familiar roar of my engine turned more than a few heads before I even crossed through the entrance. I rolled into my usual parking space, switched off the bike and removed my helmet, running a hand through my hair before hanging it over the handlebar. Before I could even take a step, someone whistled.
“About damn time.”
Justin leaned lazily against his truck, a paper cup of coffee balanced on the hood while Mason and Eric stood beside him, already dressed in their practice jerseys despite classes not starting for another twenty minutes. Mason folded his arms the second he saw me.
“The bike still alive?” Mason quipped.
I hooked my backpack over one shoulder.
“Disappointed?”
“A little.”
“You’ve been praying for her death since sophomore year.”
“And one day I’ll be right.”
I smirked. "Today’s not that day.”
The three of us started toward the main building, Justin falling into step beside me while Eric and Mason argued over something Coach Reynolds had shouted during yesterday’s practice. Gravel crunched beneath our shoes as more students hurried past us, some offering greetings, others simply staring before pretending they hadn’t. Justin nudged my shoulder with his. “By the way, my sister still thinks you’re taking her to Homecoming.”
I groaned. "I’ve spoken to your sister twice.”
“Apparently that was enough.”
“Tell her to lower her standards.”
Justin barked out a laugh. "She said you’re playing hard to get.”
“I think your sister needs therapy.”
“I’ll let her know.”
We walked through the front entrance, the familiar buzz of Clever High swallowing us whole. Lockers slammed open and shut in every direction. Someone sprinted down the hallway with a teacher yelling after him. Two cheerleaders rushed past carrying poster boards almost bigger than they were. A group of freshmen immediately moved aside to let us pass before awkwardly pretending they hadn’t. Coach Luke spotted me almost instantly from the reception desk.
“Thomas!”
I looked over.
“Don’t disappear after last period.”
“I won’t.”
“You said that yesterday.”
“I lied.”
He pointed the pen in his hand toward me. "You’re going to be the death of me.”
Justin snorted beside me while I simply offered Coach a lazy salute before continuing toward the lockers.
The hallway grew louder the farther we walked. Lockers banged shut. Laughter bounced off the walls. Conversations overlapped until they became one endless stream of noise that I’d long since learned to tune out. I reached my locker, spun the combination without looking and pulled the metal door open. Justin was halfway through complaining about our chemistry assignment when something caught my eye.
Not a sound.
Not movement.
Just…
Her.
Lisa Darien.
Three lockers away, she stood with her back partially turned toward me, carefully arranging books inside her locker with the kind of concentration most people reserved for defusing bombs. Everything about her was quiet. Quiet clothes. Quiet movements. Quiet existence. Most people came to school wanting to be noticed. Lisa somehow managed to do the exact opposite. She tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear before biting lightly on the inside of her cheek, completely absorbed in whatever she was searching for inside her bag. Then, almost absentmindedly, she smiled.
It wasn’t directed at anyone.
No one had spoken to her.
No one had made a joke.
She’d simply remembered something that made her smile.
For reasons I couldn’t explain…
It annoyed me.
Justin noticed I’d stopped paying attention.
“Oi.”
I didn’t answer.
“Tobias.”
“What?”
His eyes followed mine before he immediately sighed.
“Oh no.”
“What?”
“Don’t.”
I frowned. "Don’t what?”
“The stupid idea that’s obviously forming inside your head.”
I looked back at Lisa.
She still hadn’t noticed me.
Still smiled faintly to herself while organizing her books as though the rest of the school didn’t exist.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit.” Justin slammed his locker shut. "I know that look.”
“What look?” I raised my brow innocently.
“The one that says somebody’s about to have a really bad morning.”
A slow smile pulled at the corner of my mouth. "Relax.”
“I can’t.”
“You worry too much.”
“You’ve been on that girl’s case for almost a month.”
“So?”
“So leave her alone.”
“I don’t pick on people.”
Justin stared at me. "Seriously?”
I simply shrugged.
He rolled his eyes, muttering. "You’ve called that poor girl ‘Mouse’ so many times I’m starting to forget her actual name.”
I shrugged. "It fits.”
“It doesn’t.”
“It does.”
I laughed quietly, shaking my head.
He rolled his eyes so hard I thought they might disappear into his skull.
“I’m serious, Tobias.”
“So am I.”
“You don’t even know her.”
Something tightened inside my chest so suddenly it almost caught me off guard.
No. I didn’t know her. Not really. Which somehow irritated me even more.
I watched Lisa close her locker, adjust the strap of her backpack and disappear into the growing crowd without looking back once.
For reasons I couldn’t begin to understand…
I kept watching until she was completely gone.
