The train lurched slightly, and Nina wound her arms tightly around the bag on her lap, so it didn’t hit Seth again. The movement drew attention to a keychain that dangled from its strap that he hadn’t noticed before. It was a crocheted Hello Kitty.
“Can’t believe you still have that,” he said.
It was one that she’s had since Year 7.
Nina’s eyes drifted to the keychain, as if she didn’t even realise it was there. She smiled.
“Well, of course I do, it’s one of my favourites.”
The keychain plush had lost almost all of its colour, and was coated in a questionable shade of grey, brown and age.
“But I can’t believe you remembered it,” she added.
“I mean, it was so big on your bag that anyone would notice it,” Seth said, chuckling at the memory. Nina smiled.
“It’s so crazy isn’t it?” she said, “How long ago our graduation was.”
“Was it three, four years ago now?”
“Yeah, four years ago.”
Seth blew out his cheeks, in a sort of disbelief.
Has it really been four years since then? High school felt like only yesterday…but at the same time, it felt so far away. The friends he had in high school, who he hung out with during graduation, who he’d partied with, gamed with…they’d lost touch not long after that.
It’s strange to spend six of your most formative years with a group of people who you’d hardly see afterward.
Nina chuckled suddenly, drawing Seth from his thoughts. Her eyes were clouded over in nostalgia.
“Do you remember when Mr. Rallis gave that speech at our graduation? When he dressed up as a big love heart to profess his love for our cohort?” she asked, and Seth laughed along with the memory.
Of course he remembered.
“And do you remember, our PE teacher in Year 10, Mr - oh gosh how could I forget his name -”
“Mr. Louis?”
Nina snapped her fingers, her lips widening, “Yes, I remember all the times he’d get back at Sean and Dennis and would always separate them?”
They both laughed at the memory, as Seth sat back in that PE classroom, watching with amusement as two of the biggest troublemakers, Sean and Dennis, were told off.
Then, Seth’s gaze fell on Nina, studying her. She looked almost the exact same as she did in high school.
Of course, her features had matured. Her jaw had slimmed a little, and her hair was cut much shorter, just above her shoulder - he remembered her hair being a little longer in high school.
There was also the makeup, the subtle touch of eyeliner and eyebrow tint.
She looked the same, yet Seth couldn’t pinpoint why she also looked completelydifferent.
Suddenly, he had the urge to ask her why she liked him in high school. It was a question he’d always wondered, if he was being honest, just out of curiosity. I mean, anyone would want to know why.
He opened his mouth, the question on the tip of his tongue, before deciding against it.
No, that was weird.
They barely knew each other, and they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. It’s not really a conversation starter with someone you’ve just seen for the first time in a while.
And honestly, they were just strangers with a past they shared.
