It was Tuesday afternoon, and Josh was running late for math class. He had stayed behind in the library to finish some homework and had packed his things in a rush. Papers were stuffed messily into his backpack, and his journal—his private journal—was shoved in without much thought.
He didn't realize it wasn't there until after class.
"Okay, let's see what I have left to do..." Josh muttered, digging into his bag at his desk during the break. He pulled out his notebook, a worksheet, a pencil case… but no journal.
Panic struck like lightning.
No. No no no no no. He dropped everything and frantically checked his backpack again, flipping it upside down. Nothing. The journal was gone.
The journal with the poem. The one about her.
Josh's heart pounded. His mind raced. Had he left it in the library? The hallway? Somewhere outside?
He bolted up, not even bothering to tell his teacher where he was going, and rushed back to the library. It wasn't there. He checked the lost and found box. Nothing. Then he retraced his steps around the school—cafeteria, bench near the garden, hallway by the science lab—every place he had been.
Still, nothing.
By the time the last bell rang for the day, his stomach was a mess of nerves. He couldn't focus in class. Every time someone laughed in the hallway or whispered nearby, he thought they were talking about him.
What if someone read it? What if someone showed it to Aki? What if Aki—
He didn't even want to finish that thought.
Josh waited by the lockers, eyes scanning the crowd, hoping—no, praying—that maybe, just maybe, no one had found it.
And then he saw her.
Aki.
She was walking toward him with a confused look on her face and—Josh nearly collapsed—his journal in her hands.
"Oh no," he muttered.
"Hey, Josh," she said, holding it up. "Is this yours? I found it under our usual table in the library."
Josh's mouth went dry. "Y-Yeah! That's—mine. Thanks."
She handed it to him, tilting her head slightly. "I didn't read it or anything. But it had your doodles all over the front page, so I figured it had to be yours."
Josh grabbed it a little too quickly. "Y-yeah. Thanks. I was, um… looking everywhere for it."
Aki smiled. "No problem. I keep losing stuff too. You should keep it in a folder or something."
"Totally," Josh mumbled, stuffing it deep into his bag, heart thudding.
She didn't read it.
She said she didn't read it.
But a tiny part of him wasn't sure. And the thought kept gnawing at him.
That night, Josh pulled the journal out again and flipped to the page with the poem. The one that started with:
> "You laugh like sunlight / and I'm standing in the warmth..."
He stared at the words, wondering what would've happened if she had read it. Wondering what would've changed. Wondering if she would've smiled… or looked at him differently forever.
He slammed the journal shut.
For now, he was just thankful it was back in his hands. But that tiny knot of doubt?
It wasn't going anywhere.