Quiet things loud feelings

At 9:30 a.m., the school gates were already half-closed when Mero and her brother Zîháo rushed in.

SL School wasn’t like other schools. It stretched the day from morning to night 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.strict, structured, and exhausting. Students often joked it felt more like a system than a school.

They were late but not entirely to blame.

“Transport kids,” teachers usually said with a sigh, as if that explained everything.

Mero slipped into her classroom quietly, trying not to draw attention. Her eyes quickly found familiar faces Carol and Lily.

Her circle was small. Safe.

Not that she didn’t know others she did. But knowing people and trusting them were two very different things.

Ever since Grade 3… she has learned that the hard way.

Some laughs weren’t friendly. Some whispers weren’t harmless.

So now, she chose carefully.

The morning class began as usual.

Mero sat somewhere in the middle not a topper, not a failure. Just… there.

Present, but not noticeable.

A small folded paper slid onto her desk.

She glanced sideways.

Lily.

Mero unfolded it.

“You know Carol is dating someone?”

Mero quickly scribbled back.

“You’ve got to be kidding. We’re only in Grade 4.”

“I know. That’s why it’s weird.”

Mero paused for a second before writing again.

“A teacher told me during tiffin… something about Sarah and these things. Said I should either talk to Carol or stay away.”

Lily read it, eyebrows slightly raised.

She wrote back:

“So what are you going to do?”

Mero stared at the paper.

Then slowly wrote:

“What do you think?”

“We should talk to her.”

Mero didn’t reply.

She just folded the paper again.

Lunch break.

The three of them sat together.

For a moment, everything felt normal until Lily gently brought up the topic.

Carol hesitated.

Her fingers played with the edge of her lunchbox.

“Actually… I am,” she admitted softly. “But I don’t know if it’s serious.”

Lily leaned forward slightly, her voice calm, almost mature for her age.

She explained things carefully how relationships could be distracting, how feelings at this age could be confusing, how it might not last.

Not judging.

Just… guiding.

Carol nodded.

But her eyes shifted.

To Mero.

Mero hadn’t said anything the entire time.

She was biting her lip.

Again.

That small habit she had when something was stuck inside her chest, unable to come out.

“Do you want to say something?” Carol asked gently.

Mero froze for a second.

Then shook her head.

“No.”

And just like that, she changed the topic.

But silence doesn’t mean absence.

Sometimes it means too much is there.

Afternoon approached.

Before heading back to class, Mero found Zîháo near the corridor and told him everything.

He listened, then chuckled.

“You kids are hilarious,” he said lightly. “Don’t worry. It won’t last.”

“I hope so,” Mero muttered. “I don’t like that guy.”

Zîháo smirked. “Why?”

Mero shrugged, looking away. “He just… looks weird.”

Zîháo laughed and nudged her toward her classroom.

Back inside, Mero sat beside Lily again.

“Is Carol okay?” she asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Lily replied. “She’ll be fine.”

Mero nodded, but something about it didn’t feel finished.

She opened her book and tried to focus.

Her grades weren’t improving like others.

And maybe… focusing was easier than thinking.

A few minutes later, she went to the washroom.

Cold water. Quiet space.

A small escape.

But when she stepped out

She stopped.

Liang.

Standing near the senior section.

Like he always did.

Like he belonged everywhere without trying.

He was older than Mero he was in Grade 6. Known for being kind, a little chaotic… and just enough of a flirt to make people talk.

And those dimples.

Mero hated how noticeable they were.

Before she could move, someone else walked up to him.

Sarah.

Beautiful. Confident. A senior.

She handed him a letter.

Casually.

Like it wasn’t her first time.

Like it meant something.

Mero felt something shift inside her.

Not surprise.

She already knew.

There had always been someone before her.

Still…

It felt different seeing it.

Real.

Close.

She glanced at him.

And their eyes met.

“Hey, Mero. What’s up?” Liang said, as if nothing mattered.

“Nothing, senior,” she replied quickly. “Just passing by.”

“Hmm,” he nodded, then walked away.

Just like that.

Easy.

Normal.

Unbothered.

Mero stood there for a moment.

Her chest felt… strange.

Not heavy.

Not painful.

Just unfamiliar.

She didn’t understand what a “crush” really was.

But she knew this:

When she saw him, something changed.

Something soft.

Something confusing.

Something she couldn’t explain.

A quiet feeling…

That suddenly felt very loud.

She walked back to her classroom.

Sat down.

Opened her book.

And said nothing to anyone.

Because some feelings…

Are easier to hide than to understand.

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