For 14-year-old Seth, this was the worst thing he could’ve imagined.
Neither broke the wall of silence. Neither were aware of how to diffuse the awkward tension.
During their first lesson, Seth tried. He really did. He’d offered her his textbook to share, to which she replied with the duck of her head and a deepening red on her cheeks.
During their second lesson, he smiled at her as she sat down, hoping to diffuse discomfort between them. She smiled back, but her cheeks deepened once more.
During their third lesson, he asked her how her day was going. Which he later realised was dumb because they shared the same timetable, being in the same classes.
She’d responded with a simple, “it’s going good,” before chewing at her cheeks and looking away.
During their fourth lesson, he asked her about what she thought about the English lesson they’d had before, and she responded with the same single sentence variations.
By the fifth lesson, Seth had given up trying. He would only smile at Nina whenever she’d sit down, but that was it. It was always so hard to try and talk to her.
He really tried to put himself in her shoes. How wouldheact around a crush?
He was perfectly fine around Gwendolyn, and Bianca. He was perfectly chill around Layla. And every other girl he found pretty.
I mean, his‘crush’on them didn’t go beyond the physicals, but still.
During that lesson, when the science on the smartboard got much too overwhelming, Seth felt his gaze gravitate toward her, sneaking a glance. He realised that he’d been sneaking glances all along, without her knowledge, and without his own.
By now, he’d memorised the way her eyebrows furrowed, with the smallest crinkle between them, when she was concentrating. He noticed the way her lips curved the slightest, as if smiling was her default. He noted how her eyelashes curled over the hood of her lids, and that they were long too.
She caught his gaze and he quickly turned to talk to his friend that was diagonally across, and in the line of vision, so as to pretend that was his intention all along.
She’d quickly dropped her sights down, and chewed on her cheek once more.
What on earth do you feel toward me, Nina Mendez?
It was during their sixth lesson, that the wall of silence hadfinallybeen broken.
As Nina opened up her laptop, Seth noticed she wasn’t taking notes. In fact, she was on a movie making program. Clips from a show he recognised vaguely. She was editing something.
Curious, he asked “Wait, isn’t that Criminal Minds?”
Nina glanced back at him, surprised. Her eyes were wide, and honey brown too. A tint washed over her cheeks.
“Yeah, it’s one of my favourite shows,” she expressed softly. For someone who always had the loudest conversations around her friends, she really was quiet around him.
“Do you watch it?” she asked.
Seth shrugged. He’d started the first episode and always intended to finish the first season, but always got caught up watching other shows instead.
“I started it a bit ago. It was really good, actually. I might continue it,” he said.
Smiling, he noticed something shift in Nina’s eyes. In fact, her whole demeanour shifted in the slightest. Like she’d gotten brighter.
“Youshould,” she expressed, “It’s really good. Like, I’d say it’s my favourite show. Especially Season 2.”
Seth, surprised at her animation toward him, couldn’t help but smile. It was the first time that they’d interacted this way. Interacted properlyat allsince he’d found out about her crush.
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it,” he chuckled.
The blush on her cheeks deepened, and Nina's smile deepened, as though satisfied with herself. She turned back to her laptop, but Seth noticed she didn’t do anything.
Just stared at her screen.
