Every afternoon, I’d sit in the school library, pretending to read some book or another. But honestly, I was just watching her. The way her braids caught the sunlight, the way she bit her lip when she was deep in thought—Lily was something else.
She was the kind of girl who made you want to do better, but instead, I kept pretending. Classic literature? Please, who has time for that? Indie music? I acted like I didn’t even know what it was. And that small suya spot she loved? I’d laugh and say it was too basic, even though I’d been there more times than I could count, hoping to run into her.
But the truth is, I’ve read every book she mentioned. I even started enjoying them, though I’d never admit it. That playlist she always had on? It’s on my phone, and I’ve listened to it more times than I can count. And I know she always buys puff-puff and Fanta because I’ve watched her do it countless times, pretending not to care.
But fear is a real thing. What if she found out? What if she saw through all my pretending and realized how much I liked her? What if she figured out that I’m not as cool as I act?
So, one day, after the last bell rang, as usual, I was packing up, ready to leave and continue the same act tomorrow. But then, something pushed me. I stood up and called her name, my heart pounding like crazy.
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“Lily,” I said, my voice a bit shaky. She turned to look at me, probably wondering what I wanted to say.
“I… I need to tell you something,” I started, the words just tumbling out before I could stop them. “I pretend not to like the things you do because I’m scared you’ll see how much we have in common. And then… you’d know how much I like you.”
She looked at me for a moment, her face unreadable, and I thought maybe I’d messed this up big time. But then she smiled, that kind of smile that makes your heart feel light.
“Maybe we should stop pretending,” she said softly, and for the first time, I felt like I didn’t have to hide anything anymore.
