Three days after returning to school, Trina managed to fall back into her old rhythm — or at least, that's what it looked like on the outside.
She laughed.
She joked.
She nudged Roomy.
She treated everything like it was normal.
But inside?
Inside, something felt… dimmer.
Like a light that had flickered and come back weaker.
Morning Class
Roomy slid into his seat beside her, dropping a pencil case.
"Yo," he whispered, "how're you feeling today?"
Trina grinned.
"Alive. That's a good start."
Roomy raised a brow she was joking, but something in her voice felt thin.
He didn't push.
He never pushed her.
Alex entered the room late, trying to act casual but failing completely. The second he saw her, his eyes locked on her like he was trying to read her soul.
He hesitated… then sat on the other side of her.
"Morning," he said quietly.
Trina looked up with a small, practiced smile.
"Morning. Are we ready for another boring class?
Alex blinked.
That wasn't the response he expected.
"Yeah… ," he murmured.
But her smile already faded as she turned back to her notebook.
Her laugh hadn't reached her eyes the whole morning.
Alex noticed.
Roomy noticed.
Everyone else didn't.
Trina's Silence
Alex leaned forward slightly.
"Trina."
"Hm?" She kept drawing on the margin of her notes.
"You're… different."
She laughed softly.
"Different how? I'm literally sitting in the same spot as always."
He frowned.
"That's not what I mean."
But even as he said it, he felt a wall between them.
Not an obvious wall a quiet one.
He tried again.
"You're not talking as much. You usually tell me what happened at home, your dreams, your sisters' drama… but now"
Trina clicked her pen lightly.
"People change, Alex. It's fine."
He stared at her.
"But you always talk to me."
"And you always listen," she said, smile tight. "That's how it works."
"That's not all that it is," he said quietly.
Trina didn't respond.
Because she knew the truth he didn't:
Alex never shared things back.
Never told her what hurt him.
Never opened up.
And the little girl inside her felt tired of giving all her heart to someone who treated her presence like background noise.
She whispered, barely audible:
"Sometimes I feel like I'm just another person in your life."
Alex froze.
"What? Trina that's not"
She cut him off with another smile, too bright, too soft.
"This is us, right? Chill. We're fine."
He wanted to say something more.
But he didn't know how.
He never did.
Roomy Watching
Roomy leaned back in his seat, arms crossed, eyes shifting between the two of them.
He could feel the tension.
He could feel the shift.
Trina's laughter felt hollow.
Alex's voice felt nervous.
The air between them felt stretched thin.
Roomy didn't understand all of it but he understood enough to know something was changing, and neither Trina nor Alex could see the whole picture yet.
And it worried him.
Garden Break
During break, Trina walked to the garden, needing air.
She sat on a bench, hugging her knees slightly.
She didn't cry.
She didn't break.
She just stared at the sky, feeling unwanted and foolish.
Why do I care so much? Why does it hurt like this? He doesn't even notice…
Something inside her chest pulsed.
Slow.
Soft.
Quiet.
She ignored it again.
Alex Follows
Alex walked into the garden and stopped, watching her from a distance first.
Then he walked closer and knelt slightly in front of her the way someone kneels when they're trying to meet your eyes gently.
"Trina," he said softly, "tell me what I'm missing."
She forced a laugh.
"Missing? Nothing. This is us. Best trio. Roomy, you, me we're good."
Alex swallowed hard.
"That's not what I'm asking."
She looked away.
"Please."
He felt something squeeze in his chest.
"Trina… are you pulling away from me?"
She stood up, brushing off her skirt.
"I'm right here," she said lightly. "See? Not going anywhere."
Alex watched her walk away—
and he felt something he never expected:
Fear.
Fear that she was slipping away
and he didn't know how to hold on.
Roomy, standing farther away and pretending to scroll through his phone, saw everything.
And the worry in his eyes deepenedAlex approached quietly, stopping right in front of her in the school garden.
"Trina," he said softly, "you're… different."
She forced a tiny smile.
"Different? No. This is us, right? Best trio ever."
She said it lightly, jokingly but something inside her chest tightened painfully.
Alex stared at her.
"You're talking to me like… like nothing happened."
"That's because nothing did happen," she said quickly. "Roomy, you, me we're fine."
He knelt a little, trying to read her eyes.
"Trina… are you ignoring me?"
She laughed a soft, tired laugh.
"I'm not ignoring you, Alex. I'm just…"
She looked away, brushing imaginary dust off her skirt.
"…living."
Alex frowned.
"What does that even mean?"
She shrugged lightly, avoiding his gaze again.
"I mean we don't have to talk about heavy stuff. We're good. We always are."
Alex opened his mouth to say something maybe the truth, maybe nothing but no words came out.
Because he never told her anything real.
And she was tired of being the only one carrying the friendship.
She walked past him, smiling as if nothing hurt.
Behind her, Alex whispered to himself:
"…Why does it feel like I'm losing you?"
Roomy, watching from a distance, felt a quiet heaviness settle in his chest.
Because he saw it too.