Knowing her Name

The Next Day""

The next day, Angelo, D’ray, and the rest of their friends were back where they always were—outside Class 4’s room, lingering in the corridor during lunch break. Laughter echoed as they talked over each other, trading stories, shoving shoulders, killing time the way they always did.

But Angelo wasn’t really there.

Without realizing it, his eyes kept drifting toward the classroom door. Again. And again. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for—only that something felt unfinished.

Then he saw her.

Mariah stepped into view, and before Angelo could think better of it, his feet were already moving.

She froze when he suddenly stood in front of her, clutching her books tightly, eyes wide with surprise. Angelo opened his mouth, then stopped.

“Uh… ah—” He paused, rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about yesterday.”

Another pause. “For bumping into you. I just—yeah. Sorry.”

Mariah blinked, clearly unsure what he meant. “Y-yeah,” she muttered, then hurried past him and slipped into the far corner of the classroom—the same place she always stayed.

Angelo stood there, stunned.

Behind him, laughter erupted.

“Wow,” one of his friends said. “That wasn’t your style, man.”

“Yeah,” another added. “Since when do you get nervous around girls?”

Angelo laughed awkwardly, brushing his hair back as he rejoined them. That wasn’t how he’d planned it. Not at all. Still, his eyes flicked back to the classroom, hoping for one more glimpse—but Mariah was already gone.

The routine stayed the same after that.

Every lunch break, Angelo and his friends hung out by Class 4’s room with Julie and her group. And every day, without fail, Angelo watched the door. It was the only time he ever saw Mariah—passing by quietly, eyes down, always disappearing too quickly.

He wanted to approach her again more times than he could count.

But he didn’t.

He was afraid of scaring her. Afraid of embarrassing her. Afraid of being just another reason she looked down at the floor.

Five Days Later**

It started like any other day—until one of his friends noticed.

“Hey, man,” someone said loudly, grinning. “You keep staring inside. You got your eye on someone?”

That caught everyone’s attention. The teasing started immediately.

Angelo scratched the back of his head and smiled, that easy charm slipping out before he could stop it. “Well… yeah. That cute, chubby girl.”

The group erupted.

Julie raised an eyebrow. “You mean Lyzette?”

Before Angelo could answer, Julie called her name. Lyzette—confident, pretty, unapologetically herself—stepped out of the classroom, clearly annoyed.

Angelo’s smile vanished.

“Uh… no,” he said quickly.

D’ray frowned. “You said chubby and cute, right?”

“Not that you aren’t cute,” Angelo said, a little flustered. “You are. But… I meant the other chubby girl.”

His gaze drifted down the hallway.

“Steph?” someone guessed.

“Steph?” Angelo repeated, curious.

And then—there she was.

Mariah walked toward the classroom beside Steph.

The teasing grew louder as Steph was pulled away by Julie and the others. Mariah slowed, suddenly alone.

Angelo turned to her without thinking. “Is your name Steph?”

Confusion spread across everyone’s faces.

“No,” Steph said from behind them. “I’m Steph.”

Silence.

“Oh,” someone said. “You mean Mariah.”

Angelo looked back at her. “Is that your name? Mariah?”

She nodded faintly, eyes fixed on the floor, and slipped past him into the classroom.

Angelo didn’t stop her. He could only watch her go, brushing his hair back as his friends burst into laughter again.

“Bro, you like her,” they teased.

But Angelo barely heard them.

His eyes stayed on the classroom door—on the place where Mariah had disappeared—knowing, without a doubt now, that this wasn’t just curiosity anymore....

Mariah's POV scene

Lunch break was supposed to be quick.

In, out, and gone.

That was always the plan.

........

Mariah walked back toward Class 4 with her books held close to her chest, her steps careful as she approached the corridor. She heard them before she saw them—laughter, loud voices, the kind that filled space without asking permission. Julie and her friends. D’ray’s group. Too many people.

Her chest tightened...

No one was teasing her. No one was even looking at her.

But years of being laughed at had taught her that attention—any kind—was dangerous.

She kept her eyes on the floor.

She almost made it.

Then...

....

someone stepped back suddenly, and the next thing she knew, she was on the ground. Her books scattered. Her heart pounding so loudly it drowned out the laughter around her.

She looked up.

It was him.

The boy from yesterday.

The one who had bumped into her.

...

Before she could scramble away, he was already reaching out, his hand steady, his voice soft. He apologized. He helped her pick up her things.

That was what scared her most.

.....

Not the fall.

Not the people watching.

But the kindness.

She wasn’t used to that.

Her hands shook as she grabbed her books. She muttered something—she wasn’t even sure what—and rushed into the classroom, cheeks burning. She hid in the far corner, where she always sat, where no one noticed her.

But.....

.....

her heart wouldn’t slow down.

The next day, she tried to forget.

She told herself it was nothing. Just an accident. Just another face in the crowd.

Then she saw him again.

........

He was standing outside the classroom during lunch, laughing with his friends. She hesitated at the doorway, debating whether to turn back.

Too late.

He noticed her.

And then he was in front of her.

Too close.....

“Sorry about yesterday,” he said, fumbling over his words. “For bumping into you.”

Mariah blinked, confused. She hadn’t expected him to remember. She hadn’t expected him to care.

“Y-yeah,” she managed, then hurried past him before her legs could give out.

She escaped into the classroom and went straight to her seat, heart racing, head spinning.

Why was he talking to her?

....

Why?

Days passed.

Every lunch break, she felt it—his presence outside the room. She never looked directly at him, but she knew. Somehow, she always knew when he was there. When she passed by, she felt his eyes on her back, warm and heavy, and it made her walk faster.

Part of her wanted to disappear.

Another part—small and dangerous—wanted to look.

She never did.

....

Five days later, the corridor was louder than usual.

Mariah walked beside Steph, her only real friend, when voices rose ahead of them. Laughter. Teasing.

Then she heard it.

“That cute, chubby girl.”

Her stomach dropped.

It couldn’t be her.

It was never her.

She slowed without realizing it.