“Damn it, no,” I gasped quietly to myself. I was pawing through my bag, roughly shifting through books and pulling out files and papers. I dumped the books onto the table, took one by the spine, and shook it hard. Seeing that no hidden contents were slipped between its pages, I chucked it aside and tried another one. And another. And another. Until I finished with all.

I leaned back against my bed, massaging my temples. I had forgotten about it. I had left it by the fountain, ready to be taken by anyone who saw it. I cursed under my breath. If anyone were to read, word would soon spread to Choi Minhee. She’d know it was me, for I had been her only target today, and she would make everyone turn against me.

No matter what, I had to find it.

The next day, I sprung out of bed half an hour earlier than usual. I rushed through my morning routine, baffling my mother and shocking my cat when I almost splashed warm water on her as I the shower tap. Without even pausing to have breakfast, I rushed out of my house, determined to find the envelope before anyone else did.

When I arrived at school, it was still partly deserted. The people milling about were mostly the ground keepers, while most of the students were stifling yawns as they trudged on to class to get a few minutes of sleep before the morning bell rang. I made a beeline for the fountain, praying that I would find the envelope lying neatly by the water, perhaps a little wet, but still untouched.

I almost got a heart attack when I couldn’t find it.

My heart hammered against my chest as I got on my knees and began looking for it on the ground. It had to be here. I left school too late yesterday for someone to find it, and it was too early now for someone to have taken it. It had to be here. It just had to!

After fifteen minutes of kneeling on the ground, scrutinizing the grass in hopes that the envelope would materialise on it, I finally hoisted myself up onto the ledge of the fountain, almost on the verge of tears. It wasn’t there. Someone found the letter. The contents, all the harsh criticism and angry words, were going to be revealed to the whole school. I could feel the headache pounding against my head as I contemplated the notion.   

At that moment, something caught my eye. Something white, a stark contrast compared to the grey of the concrete that the fountain was made of. I sprung to it and snatched it, clutching the envelope in my hands as I waited for the rapid pounding of my heart to slow into rhythmic, perfunctory beats. I heaved a sigh of relief –and then frowned when I saw that this envelope was different.

It was smaller and the colour was yellowish, not white. The texture was also different, courser, like rough paper. With shaking fingers, I withdrew the note, and my jaw dropped once I read its contents.

Hi, um, to the person reading this, I guess the letter I found belonged to you. It was lying in front of the fountain and I was wondering whose it was. And I’m sorry for intruding on your privacy because I took a peek at it; I had to know if it’s something urgent that needed to be passed to the teachers or something unimportant like someone’s grocery list.

I’m sorry if I sound like I’m prying, but you sound really mad. Did she do something really bad to you?

I was at a loss for words. Someone found my letter, and the person had replied to it.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of voices coming my way. Left with no choice, I quickly stuffed the paper back into the envelope and scurried away before anyone saw me.

“Aeri?"

I didn’t answer the call. My thoughts were elsewhere as I gazed out of the window, towards the brilliant blue sky and the soft fluffy clouds that bobbed past, slow and lazy as how the day seemed to drag on.

“Aeri!” Someone snapped their fingers in front of my face.

I jerked in my seat, surprised, and then whipped my head to the left. Hyunji was staring at me, a small frown creasing her brows and forming thin lines on the corners of . “Are you okay? You’ve been really spacey since this morning.”

I smiled at her in assurance, but I was sure that it didn’t quite reach my eyes. Although my attention had now been diverted towards Hyunji, my thoughts still remained on the letter, tucked neatly between the pages of the notepad that I was currently writing in now.

“Did something happen between you and Minhee again?” she asked, her tone laced with concern.

I laughed, trying to ease her worries. “If something did, I’d be cursing her. Not moping around.”

“True,” Hyunji agreed, the corners of her lips forming a small smile. “What’s wrong then?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” I said, picking up my pencil and busying myself with some unfinished work. I could feel the outline of the envelope between the pages as my pen scribbled over the paper, but thankfully, it was thin enough to be hidden.

“You know I don’t believe you,” Hyunji said in a matter-of-fact tone. “But I’ll let it slide this time.”

She turned away, her own pen gliding across a piece paper as she shifted her attention to her work. I heaved a quiet sigh of relief and paused in my sentence, letting the pen hover over the paper as I debated my next move. Finally, I flipped the page, paused for a moment to think, and began to pen a reply for the letter I had received in place for the one I had lost.