At first, Grace told herself she was being dramatic.
Friendships didn't disappear overnight.
They just… adjusted.
That's what she kept repeating in her head.
But she couldn't ignore the pattern anymore.
Every time she walked to 5C, she was the one standing at the door.
Every time there was a pause in conversation, she was the one filling it.
Every time they said, "We'll come tomorrow," tomorrow never came.
And slowly, something inside her began to feel tired.
One afternoon, during recess, Grace didn't go to 5C.
She stayed in 5A.
Lucy was laughing with Claire near the windows. Theo was explaining something excitedly to Audrey. The classroom felt full — loud, warm, alive.
But Grace felt strangely separate from it all.
Zoey nudged her gently. "You're quiet today."
Grace forced a small smile. "Just thinking."
Zoey tilted her head. "About 5C?"
Grace looked at her, surprised. "How did you know?"
"You always look at the door during recess," Zoey said softly. "Like you're waiting for someone."
Grace didn't answer.
Because it was true.
That same day, she decided not to check the 5C corridor. Not even once.
She told herself: If they want to see me, they know where I am.
Recess ended.
No one came.
The next day, she tested it again.
She didn't go.
She didn't ask Theo to go.
She didn't even mention their names.
And again… nothing.
By the third day, the truth was sitting heavily in her chest.
If she stopped trying…
There was nothing left.
That Friday, as she was packing her bag, she overheard something in the hallway.
Nate's voice.
"Yeah, we mostly hang out here now," he was saying to someone. "Our old class friends are in 5A, but it's different."
Different.
Grace froze.
Different how?
Different because they had new friends?
Different because they weren't all in the same room anymore?
Or different because she was the only one who still cared the same way?
She didn't wait to hear the rest.
That evening, she opened her drawer at home and pulled out an old folded paper.
The one with six badly drawn stick figures.
She stared at it for a long time.
Back then, it had felt permanent.
Now it felt like something fragile she was holding too tightly.
The next Monday, when recess started, Grace stayed in her seat.
She didn't look toward the corridor.
She didn't walk to 5C.
She didn't wait.
Lucy came and sat beside her. "You're not going today?"
Grace shook her head lightly. "No."
Theo glanced at her. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah," she said. And this time, her voice was steady.
She wasn't angry.
She wasn't even sad in the loud, crying way.
She was just… done chasing.
And maybe that hurt the most.
Because for the first time since first grade, Grace realized something important:
Friendship only works when both sides are trying.
And she had been running alone.