Episode 2 — The Attention

The next morning, the sun felt too bright for Seth’s tired eyes.

He hadn’t meant to stay awake so late, but the new phone had swallowed his whole night — messages, videos, random scrolling that led nowhere.

When he finally arrived at Best Brain International School, his classmates were already settled. He slipped quietly into his seat, hoping no one would notice he’d been absent the previous day.

But Madam Ariella noticed.

Her gaze lingered on him longer than usual as she wrote formulas across the board. “Nice of you to join us today, Seth,” she said, voice calm but firm.

A few students snickered. Seth lowered his eyes.

“Sorry, Madam,” he murmured.

She didn’t reply. But when she turned back to the board, there was the faintest smile on her face — one that puzzled

him.

He watched her leave, confused but oddly warm inside.

In the afternoon lesson, Madam Ariella called him to solve a difficult problem on the board. As Seth wrote, she watched quietly — the whole class did.

When he finished, she said softly, “Excellent work. You always surprise me, Seth.”

The room buzzed with whispers. A few students exchanged looks; others chuckled under their breath. Seth could feel his ears burning.

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During break, Seth sat alone under the big

Mango tree near the back of the compound, unwrapping his sandwich. Around him, laughter floated through the air — voices calling, teasing, gossiping.

He’d just opened a science article on his phone when someone’s shadow fell over him.

It was Maya, one of his classmates. Her hair was braided neatly, her eyes curious and bright. She’d never spoken to him before.

“Hey,” she said, “you’re always here alone.”

Seth hesitated. “I like the quiet.”

“Quiet’s boring,” she said with a grin, sitting down beside him anyway. “You know, you’re kind of mysterious. Everyone says you’re the smartest guy in class.”

He shrugged. “They exaggerate.”

“Maybe.” She leaned closer. “But Madam Ariella keeps talking about you. You’ve become her favorite.”

That made him pause. “She… talks about me?”

“Yeah. Yesterday she told the class you remind her of someone she taught years ago. Someone brilliant.”

Maya smirked. “Seems like you’re getting popular.”

Before Seth could respond, the bell rang. She stood up and brushed off her skirt. “See you in class, Mr. Genius.”

He sat down quickly, pretending not to hear them. But deep inside, something strange stirred — part pride, part embarrassment, part… something he couldn’t name.

After school, Seth walked home slower than usual. The wind was cool, carrying the faint smell of the sea from miles away. He replayed the day in his mind — Maya’s teasing smile, Madam Ariella’s tone, the way everyone had looked at him.

For someone who’d spent most of his life unnoticed, all this new attention felt heavy. Exciting, but heavy.

At home, the house was empty again — just the quiet hum of the refrigerator and the echo of his footsteps on the marble floor. He dropped his bag and stared out the window.

The world outside looked so normal. Yet something about his own life had shifted, like the start of a story he didn’t understand yet.

He didn’t know it, but eyes were beginning to follow him — in the classroom, in the corridors, even from the house next door, where a new family had just moved in that morning.

And among those eyes, each would soon see something different in him.

To be continued…

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