Setting: The cozy, sunlit Student Council office inside the Education building early Tuesday morning.
Stacks of colorful lesson plans, printed directories, and school supplies line the wooden tables as the morning light streams through the glass windows.
New Characters:
Lhea White: Cara’s cheerful and highly talkative blockmate from the elementary education department.
She is completely obsessed with school supplies, always carrying a massive binder clip collection, and loves helping people organize their tasks.
She has absolutely no idea who Seth is.
Mae Dove: Cara’s supportive, bright, and slightly playful classmate.
She is the peacemaker of their block, known for her sharp memory and her habit of teasing her friends whenever something unusual happens.
She also has no clue about the engineering department crowd.
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Cara: (Sits comfortably behind the wooden front desk of the student council office, surrounded by the quiet hum of the early morning. I open my palm slowly, letting the vibrant orange moon keychain rest in my hand. My fingers softly trace the sleek metallic edges of the crescent shape, a calm, highly curious look in my eyes. I slowly flip it over, my gaze focusing on the small, neat engraving etched into the back of the frame: S. Phen.)
Cara: (As I look down at the initials, my mind completely rewinds through every single unexpected glimpse I have caught of him over the past weeks, replaying each encounter like a slow, detailed memory film. First, my thoughts drift back to that rainy afternoon weeks ago at the campus 7-Eleven—the very first time I ever laid eyes on him. Outside the store, a little neighborhood kid had accidentally dropped his stray coin right under a heavy, rusted vending machine and was crying in distress. Even though this quiet guy looked incredibly exhausted, he immediately knelt straight down into the wet mud without a second thought. He used his long engineering scale ruler to carefully fish the coin out and handed it back to the kid with a small, quiet nod.)
Cara: (I also remember a few days later when I was riding my bicycle down the university’s outer avenue. I was coasting along the path when I caught sight of his dark hoodie ahead. An elderly woman was struggling heavily, trying to lift a pair of massive, overstuffed travel baggages up the steep concrete terminal stairs. Without saying a word or even waiting to be asked, he stepped right in, lifted the heavy baggage effortlessly with his calloused hands, and carried them all the way to the top platform for her. He simply adjusted his backpack, gave a respectful nod, and walked away quietly into the crowd before she could even offer a reward.)
Cara: (I remember following him with my eyes as he then stepped inside the store to shake off the water during that first rainy day. I looked over toward the chilled beverage aisle and spotted him sitting by the counter, eating hot cup noodles. My heart had ached sharply in that instant because beneath his kind actions, he looked in total despair, drowning in a deep, invisible sorrow as he stared blankly into his food. He seemed so completely exhausted, trying to carry an absolute mountain of academic stress entirely on his own. I wanted to say something, but everything happened way too fast—a friendly, energetic boy called out to him, and he hurriedly turned his back to me, vanishing into the bread aisle before I could even move.)
Cara: (Then, the memory shifts to that crowded campus canteen a few days later. I remember walking past the food lines when I looked up and noticed the quiet guy with slouched shoulders again. He was sitting right next to that same energetic boy from the store, who was talking animatedly. But the exact moment our eyes met across the room, he completely froze like a statue, his spoon hovering in mid-air. I felt a strange, comforting pull in that brief glance, but before I could even smile, he aggressively looked down at his rice, his cheeks turning a bright pink color under his hood. He tried so hard to look fiercely independent, even while his friend kept chatting beside him.)
Cara: (My mind pushes further, rewinding to this past Sunday morning outside my local Baptist church. I had walked out onto the courtyard steps, clutching my small hymnal book against my white Sunday dress. I casually glanced over toward the quiet avenue through the narrow gaps of the white iron fence—and my breath completely caught. There he was, standing under the shadow of a large tree in his messy black jogging gear. The exact second our eyes locked across the distance, time completely stopped. I saw a look of pure shock and a fierce, blinding blush rush up his neck. But before I could even take a step toward the gate, he yanked his hood up, spun around on his heel, and broke into a frantic, high-speed sprint down the sidewalk, running away like a panicked runner in a race.)
Cara: (I also remember earlier yesterday morning before the first bell even rang. I was walking toward the main university gates when I spotted him from behind. He was walking with three other boys, their backs turned to me as they laughed and shoved each other playfully. I didn’t know who any of those friends were, but I noticed something striking—all four of them had matching cosmic mementos hanging from their bags, though his was a vibrant orange moon. Seeing him surrounded by people who clearly cared about him brought a soft, quiet warmth to my chest, proving he wasn’t completely isolated in his silent world.) Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Cara: (But then the memory film flashes to yesterday afternoon in our own Education lobby. The room was absolute chaos, filled with long lines of students submitting their printed lesson plans. I had seen him walking through the doors with that same energetic boy from the canteen, looking totally out of place in our building. Suddenly, a rushing student stumbled backward right into him, forcing his shoulder hard against the brick wall. With a sharp snap, his favorite metal keychain ripped completely off his bag zipper loop, sliding across the polished floor under a dozen pairs of moving shoes. He looked down in despair, but his stubbornly independent nature refused to let him make a scene or ask his companion for help. He simply clenched his jaw and moved forward with the crowd, leaving it behind. I immediately knelt down, pushed past the rushing legs, and rescued the metallic crescent from the linoleum floor.)
Cara: (My thoughts snap back to the present moment as the office door opens, and my education blockmates, Lhea and Mae, walk in to sit by my desk. They have absolutely no idea what the ‘S. Phen’ engraving means or who it could belong to, so I quietly open up the printed university directory sheet across the desk to cross-reference the name entries entirely by myself.)
Lhea: (Leans closer, dropping her massive stack of colorful binder clips onto the table with a curious hum, completely blank as she stares at the crescent.) “S. Phen? Wow, I have absolutely no clue who that could be. None of the education majors have initials like that. Let me look at the directory sheet you pulled, Cara.”
Mae: (Shrugs her shoulders playfully, completely clueless about the name as she rests her chin on her hand.) “Yeah, it sounds like a code name or something. I don’t know anyone on this campus with those initials. What does the file say, Cara?”
Cara: (Traces my finger down the printed directory list entirely by myself, scanning the engineering rows until my eyes lock onto the single, exact entry matching the metal crescent: Seth Phen from Civil Engineering. I look up at my friends with a soft, quiet smile.) “The directory says his name is Seth Phen. He’s from the engineering wing.”
Mae: (Instantly claps her hands playfully as a massive, knowing grin crosses her face.) “Wait! Seth Phen? Wow, look at that picture, he’s kinda cute, Cara! Hey, isn’t that the exact same guy you said sprinted away from your church gate like his life depended on it? The universe is really forcing a crossover episode here! Go find this mystery engineering boy, Cara and bring his moon back!”
Cara: (I take a step forward under the mahogany trees, the fresh morning breeze rustling through my loose hair. I raise my head—and my breath catches softly as my rewind ends and reality locks back into place, bringing me straight back to the current setting on the concrete pathway. There he is. The familiar slouched figure is walking right toward me from the opposite direction. He stops completely flat in his tracks just a few yards ahead, his eyes widening in absolute shock as they lock onto mine. There is absolutely no one else around; the entire campus feels completely empty, leaving only the two of us face-to-face on the isolated path. I look at his flushing face, then down at the vibrant orange moon crescent swinging gently from my fingertips, realizing the universe has finally brought our quiet, missing worlds together.)
[ END OF CHAPTER 10 ]