“I likeSethMoore!”
Nina’s voice carried through from the outside, into the hall, echoing across the walls. A secret, heard not only by the one person she wanted to keep it from, but by everyone else in the grade.
Everyone fell silent. Even the teachers.
Until Anthony burst into laughter.
“Seth?The tall one who talks all the time?”
Nina liked Seth?
Nina looked up suddenly, lips parted in shock, eyes crinkled in worry as she realised how loud she’d been. Her gaze met Seth’s, before quickly looking away.
Joshua turned to him, his features twisted into more of a mockery than amusement.
“Yikes, awkward,” he said, punching him teasingly.
Seth shrugged him off, waving it away like it wasn’t a big deal. But his heart begged to differ, jumping into an unsteady pounding.
No girl has ever liked him before.
It was considered the big gossip of the week.
Nina Mendez and Seth Moore.
Two students from the top class. And two students who, as far as anyone knew,hardlyinteracted.
From then on, Seth Moore knew Nina as the girl who had a big crush on him. Honestly, he didn’t know why. He’d never really gone out of his way to talk to her or anything. Most of his friends thought she was a little weird.
As the months pushed on, he shouldered the gossip like it was no big deal. After all, Nina Mendez, to him, was no one special.
She was just...a classmate.
3
Now
Seth was proud of himself.
He’dactuallywoken up on time, gotten dressed on time.
The smell of eggs surprised him as he walked into the kitchen, and even more so surprised to see his Mum awake with him too. She was whistling as she cooked, so Seth knew she was in a good mood.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” she cooed, once she’d seen him.
He stood still as she planted a kiss atop his head, still getting used to her open affection. It’d only been a couple years already, since his parents got back together, and his Mum moved back in again.
With their newfound love, they’d seemingly brought in a new wave of changes to their personality too. Prior to the separation, Seth’s Mum was hardly affectionate.
“What’s the occasion?” Seth joked, as he picked a banana from the bowl. He observed his Mum, his mind and heart still trying to marry the new changes.
“No occasion.Well,technically it’s your Dad and I’s second-second anniversary, since,y’know.”
Ah. His parents, alongside their original anniversary, also celebrate the anniversary of getting back together.
“I see. I have to catch the bus to the station in about twenty minutes, so can I grab a bit of that?” Seth enquired, and his Mum scrunched her face, in a sort of disbelief.
“Of course, this isn’t just for him! It’s for all of us.”
