The next morning, Aurelia arrived at the classroom with the same quiet routine. Shoes clicked softly against the hallway tiles, backpack neatly slung over one shoulder.
She paused only once, to glance at the old bulletin board outside the room—announcements peeling, hand-written notes faded.
Inside, chaos had already begun.
Students shouted greetings, slammed lockers, and argued over last-minute homework.
Aurelia walked in calmly, heading straight for her seat by the window.
She slid her chair in and opened her notebook before anyone noticed.
Not everyone ignored her this time.
Kael Arvyn, already seated near the middle, watched her quietly.
He had spent the previous day thinking about the new girl.
Why did she choose that lonely seat?
Why did she stay so still while the world around her raged with noise?
"Hey," Kael finally called, louder than he meant to.
Heads turned.
Aurelia looked up.
"Yes?" Her voice was soft, measured, careful.
Kael shifted in his seat.
"I… uh, noticed you yesterday. You're… always alone at that window."
Aurelia blinked.
She wasn't used to being noticed.
Not like this.
Not by someone who didn't need to speak to dominate the room.
"I like it there," she said simply, returning her gaze to the clouds outside.
Kael leaned back in his chair, intrigued. "I can see that."
Her answer was small.
Her tone was neither inviting nor dismissive. Just… quiet honesty.
Meanwhile, the rest of the class had begun to stir.
Luma Reyes leaned toward Talin Roque, whispering with curiosity.
"Did you hear Kael talking to her?" Luma whispered.
"She's probably just a quiet one," Talin replied.
"Nothing interesting."
But whispers didn't reach Aurelia.
She didn't care.
She only cared about the sunlight that spilled across her desk, the notebook open before her, and the quiet in her own mind.
Later that day, during literature class with Sir Alvez, the students were assigned to write a short story inspired by someone they noticed.
Kael's pen hovered over the blank page.
He glanced at Aurelia, who was already writing steadily, ink flowing across the lines as if it had been waiting for her entire life.
He felt a twinge of envy.
Not of her skill, but of her focus.
The way she observed without needing attention.
The way she existed in the world fully without trying to prove herself.
Why do I notice her so much? he wondered.
By the end of the period, Kael finally asked, more to himself than anyone else:
"Why is she so… untouchable?"
The answer wasn't obvious.
She wasn't mean, or superior, or even mysterious in the usual way.
She simply was.
And that was enough to unsettle everyone around her, whether they realized it or not.
As the week continued, small ripples began.
Yssa Corrin, noticing Aurelia's quiet kindness, introduced herself, sharing a small conversation about class assignments.
Mirex Halden watched, frustrated that Aurelia did not "fit" into the social hierarchy.
Talin tried to make her laugh with clumsy jokes; she smiled politely but without breaking her composure.
Even Kael felt the pull.
He wanted to make her laugh.
He wanted to know her thoughts.
But every time he tried to speak, the words felt wrong, heavy with expectation.
It was the first time he realized: paying attention to someone quietly is more dangerous than shouting at the world.
Aurelia:
I am not here to be seen.
I am here to exist.
But perhaps, if someone looks carefully, they might notice what I cannot say.
And maybe… maybe that is enough.