The sound of cicadas drifting through the open classroom window, a school shirt soaked in sweat, kids chatting pointlessly. Amidst it all, I tried my best to ignore the empty seat where you used to be.

We were in the same class, we walked home the same way, and we were the kind of people who could sit side by side without saying a word. When did it start? When did we begin avoiding each other? No, to be precise, when did I lose you?

The empty desk where you sat bothered me more than the lessons written on the chalkboard. Every time a burst of laughter erupted, I'd look up, wondering if you had returned, only to face unfamiliar faces.

That summer was exceptionally long. It was hot as if it would never end, and that made it even more cruel.

And still, I feel as if I left you somewhere in the hallway of that summer.

That day, something was different.

Vacation was still far off, and the classroom was strangely restless. Everyone laughed and chatted using boredom as an excuse, but you were unusually quiet.

I looked at your desk first. Your pencil case, which usually lay scattered about, was neatly placed, and your textbooks were tucked away in the drawer without even being taken out. As if you had tidied them up a long time ago.

"Hey, why are you so quiet today?"

When I asked playfully, you looked at me for a moment. Unlike before, you didn't laugh or answer my question. That look in your eyes lingered strangely long.

The bell for break rang, and the homeroom teacher entered the classroom. Then your name was called. A short instruction to come to the faculty office. No reason was given. Everyone else brushed it off as nothing, but you hesitated for a moment as you stood up. Before leaving the classroom door, you looked around the room once more, like someone leaving something behind.

That was the last time. Even when the next period started, even after lunch passed, you didn't return. Your desk remained as it was, and time flowed on with no one daring to touch it.

By the time school ended, rumors began to circulate. That there was a problem, that something was discussed between the adults, that you wouldn't be coming to school for a while. No one knew exactly, so they talked about you all the more easily.

But I knew. That the silence you left behind that day wasn't just a simple absence.

The beginning of that summer erased you from the school just like that.

From here on, do as you please. If you don't know how to start, check Example 1. lol