Seventh grade lists were pinned outside the office on a humid Monday morning.
No countdown.
No promises.
Just names under bold section titles.
7C
Grace
Zoey
Ella
David
Ethan
Dylan
Theo
Denise
7B
Nate
Claire
Peyton
7A
Lucy
Julian
Adrian
Audrey
For a moment, it felt ironic.
After everything…
Grace and Theo were back in the same class.
The first day of 7C was loud.
Zoey hugged Grace dramatically.
Ella squealed when she saw David's name.
Dylan and Ethan high-fived each other.
Dylan and Ethan had joined their circle in sixth grade — funny, easygoing, effortlessly blending in.
By the time seventh grade began, they weren't "new friends" anymore.
They were just part of it.
Grace stood in the middle of it all — laughing, smiling, surrounded.
Theo walked in a few minutes later.
He saw her immediately.
And she saw him.
For half a second, their eyes met.
Then she looked away.
He did too.
No greeting.
No "hey."
Just silence.
In 7C, Grace's group formed naturally.
They sat together. Ate together. Teamed up in projects.
Ethan made sarcastic comments during class.
Dylan always forgot his homework.
Zoey still nudged Grace when she zoned out.
Ella and David argued like siblings even though they weren't.
Grace felt steady there.
Secure.
She wasn't chasing anyone.
She wasn't proving anything.
She was just… there.
Theo noticed.
He noticed how easily she laughed with Ethan.
How Dylan would throw an arm over David's shoulder while they joked.
How Grace didn't glance at him the way she used to glance at 5C corridors.
During combined P.E., things felt worse.
All sections were mixed on the field.
Theo stood with Nate and Adrian near the track.
Grace was near the basketball court with her group.
At one point, the P.E. teacher paired students randomly for drills.
Grace ended up near Theo's side of the field.
For a brief second, it seemed like they might be paired.
Instead, Ethan stepped beside her.
Theo was paired with someone else.
Grace didn't look disappointed.
That bothered him more than anything.
Later that day, in the 7A classroom, Theo said something.
"She's been ignoring me."
Julian looked up from his desk. "Who?"
"Grace."
Lucy's pen paused mid-sentence.
"What do you mean?" Adrian asked.
"In P.E. She doesn't even look at me. Like I don't exist."
Lucy didn't say anything.
But something shifted in her expression.
Nate shrugged. "Maybe she moved on."
Theo frowned. "We're in the same class."
Julian spoke carefully. "Did you try talking to her?"
Theo hesitated.
"Well… no."
Lucy finally spoke, her voice quieter than usual. "She probably thinks you don't want to."
Theo looked confused. "Why would she think that?"
Lucy didn't answer.
Because deep down, she remembered the meeting at the old spot.
She remembered Grace saying she was tired of trying alone.
In 7C, meanwhile, Grace was pretending she didn't feel it.
It wasn't that she hated Theo.
It wasn't that she didn't care.
It was that she didn't know what to say anymore.
What do you say to someone who slowly let you drift away?
"Hey, remember when we were inseparable?"
No.
So she chose silence.
And silence, sometimes, looks like ignoring.
One afternoon, Zoey nudged her.
"You and Theo aren't talking?"
Grace kept her eyes on her notebook. "There's nothing to say."
Ella glanced between them. "That's not true."
Grace closed her book softly.
"I'm not mad at him," she said. "I just don't want to be the one starting every conversation again."
Across the classroom, Theo laughed at something Denise said.
Grace didn't look up.
But she heard it.
And it hurt in a way she didn't expect.
Seventh grade didn't explode.
It settled.
Into sections.
Into groups.
Into chosen circles.
Grace had hers.
Theo had his.
Lucy was in 7A with Julian and Adrian.
Nate stayed in 7B.
They were all still in the same building.
Same grade.
Same assemblies.
But now, the distance wasn't accidental.
It was layered.
And for the first time, it didn't feel like "Friends drifting."
It felt like lines being drawn.