Renzo sat at the far end of the library — the side no one really used.
It was near the window, where the sun hit the wood floor in long, golden rectangles. His usual seat. His usual silence.
In front of him sat an open notebook — blank, except for a few words scribbled in uneven lines.
"She smiled.
Not at me.
Still hurt anyway."
He tapped his pen against the table, annoyed at himself.
He didn't write. Not really. Not poems. Not journals. But lately, his thoughts had been getting too loud to ignore.
He remembered the way she looked at Ciel.
Not in love. Not even flirty.
Just… open. Like she trusted him.
And then she looked at him — Renzo — like she was waiting for something he refused to give.
He didn't mean to pull away.
But he did.
He couldn't explain why the silence between them hurt more now than it ever did when she was just another quiet girl in class.
He stared at the page again.
Tore it out.
Crumpled it.
Stuffed it in his bag before anyone could ever find it.
————
Meanwhile
Lina sat on the edge of the field, flipping through her journal.
Blank.
She held the strawberry milk in her lap — still unopened.
Her fingers hovered over the cap.
And for a second…
She wished someone else would open it for her.