Today felt like such a long day.

After turning in my classwork I waited patiently with a book for class to be over.

I let out a sigh of relief when the last bell rang. I quickly gathered my things and stepped out of the classroom.

During my first week of school I overheard a couple of my classmates talking about their classes. In relation, they were also talking about their classmates. I heard them say certain comments about the other students, but nothing bad or terrible.

That is, until I overheard them talking about me. I wasn’t listening on purpose, but the girls were sitting right in front of me.

“She has a bit of a face doesn’t she?” One of them had said, “Maybe she is one,” the other added with a giggle.

I continued walking through the hallways until I reached the courtyard.

 “It’s okay to have a serious face, honey. It only makes that beautiful smile of yours that much more unique. Those who can’t see past your appearance, don’t deserve to be in your life”

 I smiled as I recalled the memory. 

“You know, you look cute when you smile like that” I jumped when I heard a voice behind me.

I felt my cheeks flush, then even more when Haru chuckled. “So what were you thinking about, Min?” Haru asked, fixing his satchel.

I glanced over at him and noticed his uniform was also different than mine, but he was inside the school and they are pretty good at keeping non-students out without a nametag.

“Do you even go to this school?” I asked, bluntly. Haru looked at me surprised, then smirked.

“Is that what you were thinking about? That maybe I was in your school and you could casually meet up…. hey, wait up!”

I started walking when I realized he was teasing me.

He laughed and caught up to me; I wasn’t a fast walker.

“Yeah, I go to this school. I’m in the Arts Magnet” “There’s an Arts Magnet?” I stopped walking, Haru stopped as well and turned to face me.

“Yeah, the Business Magnet you’re in, and the Arts Magnet” I furrowed my eyebrows. I felt stupid for not even knowing I was in a magnet program.

“What do you learn in the Arts Magnet?” “Ah, composing, dance, vocal, theater, film and stage crew”

“Dance” I repeated, feeling a rush of contentment when the thing I loved the most was mentioned.

“Yeah, Dance. Do you dance Min?” I blinked in surprise and gulped. The feeling of content was replaced with guilt and hurt. 

“No. Not anymore…. I mean no I-I don’t dance. Bye” I stuttered, zipping my sweater up and walking as fast as I could to the front gates.

Dancing was my passion and although I had admitted to giving it up, it still brings me happiness whenever I go over past choreography.

But I wasn’t the only one who loved to dance. Suzy was also aiming to be a dancer. Sure she was extremely clumsy, but she was always twirling around in the living room.

As a girl with an ambitious personality, it used to bothered her that I was better than her; even though I would tell her it was only because I had more years of practice and she would get better through time.

I remembered the tantrum she had when I was called in to audition for a Dance School.

Suzy was the youngest and spoiled, but she wasn’t angry with me, per say, more at herself. She was way too hard on herself when she failed; it ended up depressing all of us when we couldn’t see her smile.

I felt so terrible seeing her so broken up that I ended up messing up the audition.

Suzy projects hurt with anger and she was angry I had messed up the opportunity. She believed that I had done it because I pitied her.

We hadn’t made up when those men showed up.

I stopped walking and swallowed back the tears that wanted to come out.

Haven’t I been able to get over this?

I can remember that night so clearly and some memories of what happened during the two years I was locked up, but that was it.

I hurt my head while escaping a burning warehouse and my memories were so scattered that I didn’t even remember how I was able to escape.

As the years passed, I remembered certain events, one being the death of my baby sister in the hands of those monsters.

I balled my hands into fists; it only angered me that I wasn’t able to remember their damn faces.

I wish I could’ve helped the police find them, but my psychologist reassured me that my brain was retaining those memories for my own protection.

“Min, are you all right?” I opened my eyes and saw Leo looking at me with concern eyes.

I blinked away the tears and nodded, “Yeah. Excuse Me,” I said, side-stepping him.

“Hey hold on, I need to give you something” I turned round and saw him holding out a flyer.

“First annual Talent Show” He opened his satchel and took out an envelope, then a ticket.

“You better come” He said, putting the ticket on top of the flyer and then walked over to a group of students.

I put the flyer and ticket in my bag and continued walking to the front of the school.

During the bus ride I thought about the talent show, it wouldn’t hurt to go would it?

When I arrived home I threw my satchel on my bed, then went downstairs to grab something to eat.

Why was it so easy to talk to Leo and Haru? They’re the only ones who I’ve truly spoken to, yet I didn’t know much about them.

Could I consider them friends? Or just classmates…except they weren’t in any of my classes. Maybe schoolmates?

I shook my head, why do I even care? I slammed the kitchen door shut and leaned on it.

I can’t get attached. I’m in a stable place.

I don’t want things to change again.

-

AN: “Magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula.” In this story, the school has two: Business Magnet and Performing Arts Magnet.