Love Before Graduation

Suhina was silent – ​​and her silence was like stale flowers lying in a graveyard.

Days were dragging on, and every moment was pricking our friendship with another poisonous thorn.

Arin?

He too was visible sometimes – on walls, behind doors, in hazy shadows –

So close that the heart trembles, so far that even the voice cannot reach.

Fate?

Fate is like that prostitute who smilingly embraces the highest bidder.

I kept running, she kept pulling me. In front of Arin, again, again and again.

There were still conversations – no, there were words –

Small arrows, rusted, but hitting straight to the heart.

Then one day the wind changed.

No, it did not change, it started rotting.

Suhina ... that day .... had come with sweet poison in her eyes.

She showered flowers of laughter, hiding the thorns.

"Aira," she shouted, so that everyone could hear, "I admire your courage!"

I tilted my neck. "Courage?"

The air had become thick ,so thick that the breath started smelling bad.

"Yes!" She laughed , like a cat that has grabbed the tail of a mouse.

"Not everyone runs after a boy who doesn't even look back."

The crowd shuddered.

My fingers dug holes in my palm, but my face remained the same , like a block of ice.

Arin was there ,carrying his bag, with wrinkles on his forehead.

Suhina shot an arrow , the last, the dirtiest arrow.

"Poor Arin... how can I escape from him?"

I smiled and bowed my head .... no, it was a laugh laced with venom.

"You are absolutely right," I said.

Her face lit up with victory.

She must have felt sweet at the thought that she had humiliated me.

But I moved forward, very slowly.

"I have a question..." I said, with a thin edge to my voice, "If I am the one running behind, why do you talk about me every time?"

The crowd was stunned.

Suhina's laughter shrank ,as if water had been thrown on a cat.

"Think about it," I said, now so soft that it pierced like a knife, "If I am really that pathetic... Arin would have knocked me down by now. Or else..." I blinked, "or are you afraid that I don't need to run at all?"

Murmurs in the crowd. Splashes. Scattered laughter.

Then I made the final attack.

"And yes," I said, looking straight at her, "if you were dreaming of insulting me, you should have seen it—Arin is still standing behind you."

Suhina's face turned pale.

She turned.

Arin was still there—like a statue of ice.

Suhina mumbled something—meaningless, out of tune—then stomped off and ran away.

All her artificial magic had been shattered.

Nami came up to me, whispering, "She suffered the same fate as my English exam—knew everything, yet failed."

I smiled slightly.

But before I could say anything—Arin's voice came.

"She talks too much," he said—he fixed her eyes on me for a moment—then turned away.

Just one sentence.

Just one blow. And the game is over.

At least for today.