By the next free period…
Lucas finally felt it.
Not as a rumor.
Not as a whisper.
But as a shift.
The moment he stepped into the open corridor near the cafeteria, the noise softened around him.
Not silence.
Attention.
A group of girls stood near the vending machine.
The moment Lucas passed
One of them straightened slightly.
Another whispered something.
Then
"Lucas."
He stopped.
A girl he barely remembered from another class smiled brightly.
"Um… you're really good at sports, right? And… you got full marks yesterday."
Her voice was careful.
Polite.
Trying very hard to sound natural.
"Yeah," Lucas replied.
That was all.
They didn't leave.
Two more girls stepped closer.
"So… are you free during lunch?" one of them asked.
"We were thinking of sitting together."
Before he could answer, someone else called him from behind.
"Hey, Lucas!"
A boy from his class.
They had never spoken before.
Not once.
"You ride that bike, right? It looks awesome."
Lucas nodded again.
"Thanks."
More people stopped.
Small questions.
Small compliments.
Small openings.
It felt… crowded.
From the corner of his vision, he saw her.
Standing near the stairs.
Watching.
Not moving.
His Thought
As he listened to them talk, Lucas felt something strange.
Not happiness.
Not pride.
A quiet observation.
When I was thin… tired… and invisible…
When my bag was old and my shoes were worn…
When I couldn't solve problems quickly…
None of you even looked at me.
He remembered clearly.
During lunch, he used to sit alone.
Not because he wanted to.
But because no one came.
Even when he tried to speak, conversations would gently move away from him.
Like water around a stone.
Now that I look better…
Now that I perform better…
Now that I suddenly have value…
They appeared.
So easily.
So naturally.
A Polite Wall
One of the girls laughed softly.
"You've changed a lot, Lucas."
He smiled.
It was light.
Neutral.
"People change."
Nothing more.
No invitation.
No warmth.
Just courtesy.
They couldn't step closer than that.
Not because he pushed them away
But because he didn't open the door.
Asha arrived late to the corridor.
She stopped when she saw the small crowd around him.
She didn't look jealous.
She looked thoughtful.
She waited.
Didn't interrupt.
When the others finally drifted away, she walked beside him.
"You seem popular now," she said quietly.
Lucas glanced at her.
"Maybe."
She tilted her head.
"But you don't look like you care."
He didn't deny it.
The One Who Couldn't Join
From the stairs
She saw it clearly.
How easily people laughed with him.
How natural the space around him felt now.
And how impossible it felt to step into that space herself.
Not because he was surrounded.
But because she no longer belonged there.
Lucas's Resolve
As they walked toward the cafeteria, Lucas's thoughts stayed calm.
I don't hate them.
But I won't live for their attention either.
He already knew what kind of world this was.
He had lived in it once.
This time
He would choose who deserved a place beside him.
Not who noticed him too late.