Chapter 2 Recollection

THREE MONTHS LATER.

Lisa

There are memories you never really forget. They don’t disappear with time the way people promise they will. 

They simply settle somewhere deep inside you, quiet enough that you almost believe you’ve healed, until something small, a laugh drifting across a hallway, the smell of fresh paint in a classroom, the roar of a motorcycle engine somewhere outside, pulls them right back to the surface. 

Before Tobias lost his memories, before he became the boy who looked at me like I was the answer to questions he couldn’t understand, there had been another Tobias. 

One the entire school admired. One teachers defended, girls chased and boys wanted to become. 

The same Tobias Thomas who somehow made my life a little smaller every single day. 

Looking back now, I sometimes asked myself what I had done to deserve it. Did I accidentally offend him? Did I say something wrong? Did I simply exist in the wrong place at the wrong time? I never found an answer because Tobias never gave me one. 

He didn’t need a reason. To him, I was just… there. Someone quiet enough to tease, harmless enough not to fight back, easy enough to make into the punchline of whatever joke crossed his mind.

The strange thing was, he never bullied me the way people imagine bullies do. 

He never shoved me into lockers or stole my lunch money. Tobias was smarter than that. He understood something most people didn’t. A boy like him didn’t need to push someone to the ground. All he had to do was laugh first. 

The rest of the school would happily finish the job for him. 

One comment from Tobias Thomas carried more weight than a dozen insults from anyone else, because once he decided something was funny, everyone else suddenly agreed.

It was a Wednesday morning when I learned that lesson all over again. History had always been one of my better subjects, so when Mrs. Keller announced that everyone would be presenting their projects, I wasn’t exactly excited, but I wasn’t terrified either. 

I had spent almost a week working on mine, rewriting it three different times until every sentence sounded right. 

Standing in front of people had never been my favorite thing, but I figured if I got through the presentation quickly enough, I’d survive another day.

I had barely introduced my topic when the familiar growl of a motorcycle echoed through the open classroom windows. A few students glanced outside automatically, some already smiling before the rider even appeared. My stomach sank. I knew that sound. 

Everyone at Clever High knew that sound.

Almost a minute later, the classroom door swung open.

Tobias strolled in without the slightest hint of urgency, his helmet hanging lazily from two fingers while his backpack rested over one shoulder. Like always, he looked completely unapologetic about being late. Mrs. Keller sighed so heavily I thought she might actually quit teaching on the spot.

“Late again, Mr. Thomas.”

“Bike stalled.”

Mrs. Keller looked at him over the rim of her glasses. “Your bike has more excuses than my students.”

“She’s high maintenance.” Laughter rippled through the room.

Mrs. Keller only shook her head. “Sit down before I give her detention too..”

He offered her that easy smile that somehow got him out of almost everything before making his way toward the back of the room.

Unfortunately…

His seat was directly in front of me.

I tried to ignore him. I really did. My eyes stayed glued to my presentation as I continued speaking, forcing my voice to remain steady despite the nervous flutter building inside my chest.

“…The Boston Tea Party became one of the defining events that eventually led to—”

The stack of cue cards slipped from my fingers.

I watched in horror as they scattered across the classroom floor.

For one painfully silent second, nobody moved.

Then I crouched quickly, mumbling a quiet apology to absolutely no one as I reached for the nearest card.

Another hand got there first.

I froze.