Lea could hardly concentrate all morning.
Actually, she tried.
Really.
She neatly copied the headline in her biology notebook. She even read the assignment in German twice. In physics, she accidentally raised her hand for a question, even though she didn’t know the answer.
But her thoughts kept drifting back.
Hamburg.
Maybe.
A few weeks.
There was no more information.
And that was exactly what made it so difficult.
If the decision had already been made, one could deal with it. If it was clear that Noah was staying, one could breathe a sigh of relief.
But this in-between felt like an open door behind which nothing could be seen.
During the big break, Lea sat with Mia on a bench in the schoolyard.
The rain had stopped, but the wooden slats were still damp.
“You look like someone spoiled your favorite movie,” said Mia.
Lea didn’t answer immediately.
“Noah might be moving.”
Mia blinked.
“What?”
“To Hamburg.”
“Excuse me?”
“His father got a job offer there.”
Mia became unusually quiet.
That was rare.
Normally, she had at least four opinions on every topic within three seconds.
“And?” she finally asked.
“And what?”
“What do you feel about it?”
Lea looked at the schoolyard.
Several students were playing soccer. Somewhere a water bottle fell over. Someone laughed loudly.
Everything seemed normal.
Only she didn’t feel normal.
“No idea,” she said.
Mia raised an eyebrow.
“Liar.”
“Mia!”
“You know exactly what you feel.”
Lea was silent.
Because Mia was right.
And because she didn’t want to say it out loud.
After class, she walked toward the bus stop.
She had actually hoped to spend the way home with Noah.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
He probably still had class.
Or an appointment.
Or something else.
Lea got on the bus alone.
For the first time in weeks, the ride felt strangely empty.
She sat by the window and watched the passing houses.
When her phone vibrated, she immediately reached for it.
A message from Noah.
“Sorry. Had to leave early.”
Lea smiled involuntarily.
She didn’t even know why.
Maybe because he had thought to write to her.
Maybe because she had hoped he would.
She replied:
“No problem.”
This time she even added a smiley.
And left it there.
A few seconds later, a reply came.
“Thanks 🙂”
Lea grinned.
Then she shook her head at herself.
Three months ago, she would never have believed that a smiley could brighten her day.
Arriving home, she threw her backpack into the corner of her room.
She sat down at her desk and actually wanted to start her homework.
Instead, she opened the materials for the history test.
The moon landing.
Neil Armstrong.
Apollo 11.
Normally, she would have started reading immediately.
Today, she just stared at the headline.
After a few minutes, her phone vibrated again.
This time a new message from Noah.
“Do you want to work on the presentation after school tomorrow?”
Lea read the message twice.
Then three times.
Her heart beat faster.
She knew the question was completely reasonable.
After all, it was about the group project.
At least officially.
Still, she was happier about it than she probably should have been.
“Sure.”
This time she sent the reply immediately.
Less than ten seconds later, this appeared:
“Great. City library?”
“Sounds good.”
“Then tomorrow at 3 p.m.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Lea put the phone on the table.
For a moment, she had to smile.
Then she remembered Hamburg again.
And the smile got smaller.
The next day, class passed surprisingly quickly.
Maybe it was because she was looking forward to the afternoon.
Maybe also because Mr. Schneider showed a movie in math instead of teaching.
Shortly before three o’clock, Lea arrived at the city library.
The large building was only a few minutes from the school.
Through the glass front, she could already see some visitors.
She went inside.
Inside it smelled of books, paper, and coffee.
Noah was not there yet.
Lea sat down at a free table near a window.
Five minutes later, she saw him come through the entrance door.
But he was not alone.
A girl was walking beside him.
About her age.
Long dark hair.
She laughed at something Noah had just said.
And Noah laughed too.
Lea immediately felt that uncomfortable tug in her stomach.
The girl seemed to know him well.
Too well.
Noah noticed Lea and waved.
Then he went straight to her table.
Together with the stranger girl.
“Hey,” he said.
Lea tried to smile.
“Hi.”
“By the way, this is Hannah.”
The girl smiled kindly.
“Nice to meet you.”
Lea nodded.
“Nice to meet you too.”
But as she said that, a completely different question suddenly formed in her head.
Who was Hannah?
And why had Noah never mentioned her?