The bell rang, sharp and final, sending a wave of chatter and shuffling feet across the classroom. Desks screeched against the floor, papers crinkled, and yet—between Nina Mondragón and Tristen Albright—there was a heavy silence.

Neither of them stood right away. For a moment, it was like they were the last two people left in the room, even though kids brushed past them in a hurry to escape.

“So…” Tristen started, rubbing the back of his neck. “We should probably figure out where we’re… y’know… doing this thing.”

Nina hugged her messenger bag a little tighter. “Yeah. Good idea.” She hesitated, then said, “There’s this big tree. By the creek.”

Tristen raised an eyebrow. “The creek? You mean the one no one ever talks about because no one knows where it actually is?”

Nina smirked, almost challenging. “Exactly that one.”

There was a beat of silence before he cracked a crooked smile. “Alright. Biggest tree. Near the creek. I’ll find it.”

“You better,” Nina said, pretending to sound tough, though her voice carried more curiosity than annoyance.

Another silence stretched between them. Not uncomfortable exactly—just… awkward. The kind of silence that comes when two people don’t quite know what they are to each other yet.

Tristen hoisted his backpack over his shoulder. “Guess I’ll… see you later, then?”

“Yeah,” Nina said, shifting her weight. “See you later, I guess.”

They both headed out the door—two kids who weren’t friends, not yet, but weren’t strangers anymore either.

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