The Pen That Changed My Life - Chapter 22 – A Different Routine

11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhS9Wk8RTl

The school trip became everyone's favorite memory for weeks.

Every morning, someone would bring it up.

"Do you remember when Bilal almost got left behind?"

"Or when the teacher got lost in the museum?"

The classroom filled with laughter as the stories grew more exaggerated each time they were told.

I mostly listened.

Narin, of course, was always in the middle of the conversation.

One afternoon, our English teacher announced a new seating arrangement.

"Everyone, listen carefully."

A chorus of disappointed voices filled the room.

"Oh, no..."

"Not again."

The teacher ignored the complaints and began reading names.

One by one, students carried their desks to different places.

When my name was called, I looked around the room.

My new seat was no longer beside the window.

It was near the center of the classroom.

I quietly moved my books.

A few moments later, I heard Narin.

"Sir."

"Yes?"

"Can I stay where I am?"

"No."

"But—"

"Everyone changes seats."

Narin sighed dramatically.

"Yes, sir."

The class laughed.

For the rest of the day, everything felt... different.

Between lessons, I automatically looked toward the window before remembering it wasn't my seat anymore.

Narin was now sitting several rows away.

Whenever our eyes met, he'd make a funny face just to see if I'd smile.

Sometimes I did.

Sometimes I pretended not to notice.

At lunch, I carried my lunchbox outside for the first time in months.

The weather was pleasant, and the benches beneath the trees were almost empty.

I had barely started eating when someone sat down beside me.

"You changed your hiding place."

I smiled.

"I guess I did."

Narin opened his lunchbox.

"I looked in the classroom first."

"You were looking for me?"

"Of course."

He answered so naturally that I didn't even think about it.

We ate quietly for a while.

Then he looked around.

"I liked the old seats better."

"So did I."

"You really miss the window, don't you?"

"I do."

He nodded thoughtfully.

"I'll think of something."

I looked at him curiously.

"About what?"

"You'll see."

He smiled in that mysterious way he sometimes did whenever he had an idea.

I had learned not to ask too many questions.

When Narin said, "You'll see,"

...I usually did.

The next morning, I walked into the classroom and stopped.

On my new desk sat a small folded piece of paper.

I looked around.

No one seemed to be watching.

I unfolded it.

Written in neat handwriting were just a few words.

"Even if you can't sit by the window anymore... the sky is still the same."

There was no name.

There didn't need to be.

I looked across the classroom.

Narin was pretending to read his textbook.

A few seconds later, he looked up.

Our eyes met.

He smiled.

I smiled back.

For the first time...

I realized that sometimes the place didn't matter.

What mattered...

Was the person who noticed what you'd lost and quietly tried to give a piece of it back.11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcH8uY7If2d

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