In Daniella’s mind, “I thought it was just a short quiz. Why does it feel like every single test we took back then is in this super thick pile of papers?”

“I know what you're thinking, how you're staring at that thick stack. That’s not even the quiz yet. These are just formulas and solutions. You need to read and memorize everything written on those pages,” William said.

As Daniella reached for the papers, her hands moved slowly, almost reluctantly, because the moment she touched them, she already felt like nothing would sink into her head—even if she hadn’t read anything yet.

While reading, her eyes scanned through the pages, but everything seemed to blur together. She couldn’t even remember how to solve a single problem anymore. Nervously, she decided to ask William for a favor.

“Hmmp! Can I ask you a favor?” He looked at her without answering, so she continued anyway. “If it’s okay, can you teach me this first so I can at least answer something on your short quiz?”

William stood up and sat next to Daniella, surprising her with how close he was.

“Which part don’t you understand?” he asked.

Daniella froze, staring at his face so close to hers. “Everything! Even my feelings for you,” she blurted out without thinking.

William frowned at her response. “Focus on the paper, Daniella. Not on my face,” he said bluntly.

She snapped back to reality and turned her gaze to the paper filled with numbers and letters. At first, she understood a few things, but as William began explaining multiple formula solutions at once, everything went over her head, and it only made her head ache.

William must’ve noticed, because Daniella fell silent, and so he stopped talking.

“Did you follow what I said?” he asked.

Daniella only nodded, which puzzled William. She was unusually quiet. He could see it in her face—this wasn’t the Daniella he knew. Over the years in school, he had grown used to her being lively, especially when it came to how she felt about him.

“Are you okay?” he finally asked.

Since her head was already aching from William’s explanations, Daniella just nodded again. She kept her eyes on the paper and avoided looking at William.

William frowned again and crossed his arms, watching her. “Look at me,” he said.

Curious, Daniella looked at him, still silent.

“Let’s do this instead. I’ll only tutor you on weekends, not during break time. We’ll meet at a park near our school. Is that okay with you?”

“I’m fine with that,” Daniella answered softly.

“Class is about to start again. You should put that reviewer in your bag.” Daniella took the papers and quietly put them back in her bag.

She stood up but paused in front of William, who was still sitting.

“I was going to say something.”

“What is it?”

“Did you know you’re like a Math problem?”

William looked up at her. “A Math problem? Why?”

“You’re hard to understand and difficult to solve, but if someone puts enough effort and focus, they’ll eventually say, ‘It’s not really that hard—I just wasn’t focusing enough to find the right solution and the correct answer.’”

“I don’t get it.”

Daniella’s mouth dropped open. “You’re smart—how can you not get what I’m saying!”

“Wait, there was a deeper meaning to that?”

Her eyes widened. “Of course there was! You always have a book in your hand, you’ve forgotten how to throw a good pick-up line!”

“Is that really necessary?” William asked innocently.

Daniella could only scratch her head in frustration. “In short, even if you’re like that, I’ll still find a way to make you notice me—no matter how long it takes!” she said loudly. “Ugh, I give up! You’re so hard to talk to.” She walked back to the classroom, leaving William sitting there.

“I’m the one who’s hard to talk to? She’s the one whose mood changes so fast—just a while ago she was all sad, and now she’s walking out on me.” William just shook his head and followed her, not wanting to be late for class.

That afternoon, it was time to go home, but Daniella wasn’t heading straight to their house. She seemed to be walking toward a park—possibly the one William mentioned earlier. She wandered around, looking at the people nearby. She sat on a bench and watched a dog wagging its body energetically in front of its owner, seemingly asking for food. The woman was holding some fries, which amused Daniella as she observed them. When the pair finally left, she stood up and quietly made her way home.

---

It was Saturday, and Daniella was in a small hut, staring at the paper in her hands. It was the thick stack William had given her, and now she was trying to understand all the formulas—but it looked like her eyes were about to bleed from all the numbers and letters she was seeing.

Daniella dropped the paper and stared into space.

“There’s really no hope for me to memorize what’s written here. It’s just too hard!” she exclaimed, messing up her hair in frustration.

While she was in that state, her mother arrived carrying snacks and was surprised by her daughter’s appearance.

“What kind of look is that, Daniella? You’re studying, not acting in a horror house.”

Daniella’s hair was messy, and her eyes had dark circles underneath from the lack of sleep the night before.

“Mom, maybe I should just stop studying.”

Maria frowned. “What do you mean stop studying? It’s only been a week since school started and you’re already giving up? Don’t be ridiculous, Daniella!”

Daniella picked up the paper full of formulas and solutions and showed it to her mother.

“This is why, Mom. I don’t understand any of it!”

Maria took it and read it. “What’s hard about this? It’s just Math,” she said calmly.

Daniella’s eyes widened at her mother’s response. “Come on, Mom. That’s hard—for me! It’s Math! Try solving a few of the questions if you think it’s easy!”

Maria gave her a sharp look.

“Why should I be the one answering this? I’m not the student here, you are. Stop making excuses just so you don’t have to do your work!”

“This isn’t even homework. It’s from my tutor.”

Maria looked confused.

“Tutor? Since when did you get a tutor? I didn’t raise you to be brainless, Daniella.”

Look who’s talking. She can’t even solve this either. We’re the same.

“I know that look, Daniella. Are you saying I don’t know Math?!”

Daniella raised both eyebrows.

“So you can read minds now?”

Maria sighed at her daughter’s stubbornness. “Just start studying. You talk too much. Oh, by the way, who is this tutor of yours who agreed to teach you? And where are you going to get the money to pay him?”

“No, Mom. It’s a special program at school. Your daughter just got lucky and was chosen to be tutored by William.” She even flipped her hair confidently.

Maria’s brows furrowed.

“William?”

“Yes, Mom. William—the guy I’ve had a crush on since first year high school.”

“Really? Just the other day—” Maria trailed off when she noticed Daniella’s expression, clearly waiting for her to finish.

“What was that, Mom? Just the other day what?”

Maria rolled her eyes.

“I was thinking of buying pork, but it’s too expensive.”

“That’s not what you were going to say.”

Maria stood up, ready to leave.

“Just study. You already have snacks. Hopefully, that’ll help your brain grow a bit.” She exited the hut, leaving Daniella speechless.

“What does she think, that I’m stupid?” She picked up the paper, stared at it, then dropped it again—followed by banging her forehead against the table. “She’s right. I really am stupid. Whatever happens, I’ll just answer what I can on William’s quiz before he starts teaching me other subjects. But I think unless I get a high score, we’ll just keep repeating this over and over.”

Daniella spent the entire day focused on Math formulas and solutions. She did the same the next day, because on Monday, William would give her the short quiz. Their tutoring session at the park near school wasn’t until Saturday, so for now, Daniella was doing everything she could to memorize the solutions—even if her brain wasn’t functioning very well.

That night, Daniella stopped solving and sat by the window in her room, staring at the moon, which shone brightly that evening. She stared deeply, seemingly lost in thought, until she finally stood up and closed the window to prepare for sleep.

---

It was Monday. During lunch break, Daniella was already in the school garden, but William had not yet arrived. She ate first before going to the garden, thinking that William must have eaten too, which explained his delay. Daniella made sure not to look at William earlier in class, avoiding any eye contact with him.

A few minutes later, William sat in the seat across from her. He immediately noticed how Daniella was hunched over, with her hair covering her face.

“Did you review?” William asked.

“Of course! You’re talking to me!” Daniella boasted.

“Really? Let’s see then.” William slid a piece of paper toward her. Daniella took it and examined it.

Her head shot up in shock. “Wait! You said this was just a short quiz! Why are there fifty questions, and with solutions required too? Do you really think I can finish this before the bell rings?!”

Her eyebrows were nearly touching from how tightly she was frowning.

“Did you even sleep?” William asked seriously.

Daniella touched her eyes—her dark circles were evident after two sleepless nights.

“I did sleep. Why?”

“You look like you stayed up just to review what I gave you. Are you okay?”

Daniella smiled, thinking maybe he would cancel the quiz. “I’m okay.”

“Alright then. Answer it.”

With that, William opened his book and began reading. Daniella was left gaping at him.

“I thought he’d be nice to me.” She rolled her eyes at William, who wasn’t even looking at her. So, against her will, she started answering the quiz, leaving it up to fate whether she’d finish before the bell rang.

Daniella was so focused on answering that she didn’t notice William peeking at her from behind his book. He saw how determined she was to answer the quiz he gave her, and a small smile appeared on his lips before he returned to reading.

Almost thirty minutes passed, and the bell rang. Daniella had to stop answering. She had only reached question number 20.

“Are you done?” William asked.

“Of course not. The bell rang—how could I finish?” she replied in frustration.

William took the paper and checked how far she had gone. “This is fine. Let’s see if you got even one answer right.” He then placed the paper in his bag, stood up, and started walking back to the classroom. Daniella followed right after him.

---

The entire day of classes finally ended for Daniella, and it was obvious from her eyes that she was moments away from falling asleep from exhaustion.

She wasn't going home with Bree because Bree had rushed off earlier. As Daniella was about to step out of the school gate, William called out to her.

“Wait!” he shouted loud enough to make her flinch.

Daniella lazily turned to look at him and simply waited for him to approach.

“We’re going somewhere. Follow me,” he said before continuing to walk.

Daniella frowned. She wanted nothing more than to go home.

This William… he could’ve just said he wanted to be with me. Why pretend otherwise?

Despite her tired face, Daniella smiled faintly and trailed after him.

She walked five steps behind him, her head lowered as she dragged her feet. William noticed this, stepped back, and slowed down until he was beside her—something she didn’t even notice.

She followed him into a park she recognized—the same one she had visited a few days before.

What are we doing here? Wasn’t the plan to start tutoring on Saturday?

William sat on a bench with a table, so Daniella sat across from him.

“What exactly are we doing here? I thought we were starting on Saturday,” she asked.

“I’m checking your quiz answers from earlier.”

Daniella blinked. Why bring her all the way to a park just to check her quiz?

“Why do I have to be here?”

William gave her a lazy look.

“Can you not ask questions?” He pulled out the paper and began reviewing her answers.

Daniella simply huffed and rested her arms and head on the table. Within five minutes, she was visibly asleep. William glanced at her—she was already deep in slumber. He let his eyes linger on her face. Truthfully, he brought her to the park on purpose so she could rest for at least a little while. Knowing her, if she kept walking while that sleepy, she might trip or faint somewhere on the way home.

While they sat like that, a man from the next table—who had been watching them since they arrived—spoke up. After observing Daniella, then William, he asked, “Is she your girlfriend?”

William turned to him and shook his head.

“Why do you look like a couple then?”

“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s just my classmate. I’m her tutor.”

The man smiled. “I see… She’s probably the one who likes you, but you’re ignoring her.”

William didn’t respond, which only confirmed the man’s assumption.

“You’re lucky, if that’s the case.”

William looked at him. “Why would you say I’m lucky? She’s so stubborn. She does whatever she wants even if the people around her are already getting annoyed.”

“Aren’t you happy? Out of all the guys in your school, she chose you to be her crush. Maybe she even loves you already.”

The man kept smiling as he looked at Daniella. “She’s beautiful. So why don’t you care about her efforts?”

William stared at Daniella’s sleeping face when the man spoke again.

“When I was in high school, I had a classmate like her. Not exactly the same personality, but similar. She liked a guy back then, but she never confessed because I kept getting in the way. We graduated with her hating me.”

“Why did you bother her? You should’ve let her love whoever she wanted.”

The man looked away, smiling faintly. “Because I had feelings for her too. Funny enough, I did everything to keep her from confessing to the guy she liked—even when she was getting mad at me.”

“That was selfish.”

He chuckled softly. “I know. I was very aware of how selfish I was back then. But what could I do? I loved her, and I didn’t want her to end up with someone else.”

“So where is she now?”

His smile faded. “Honestly… I don’t know. What I heard is that the guy she liked is married now. But her? Nothing. I have no idea.”

“Do you have a family now?” William asked.

“No. And I guess you could say I’m a martyr. I’m still searching for the woman who once stole my heart. I just hope I can find her and finally tell her how I feel.”

William could see the sincerity on the man’s face.

“What if she already has a family?”

“I don’t know what I’ll feel if that’s the case,” the man admitted. “But I just want to tell her what’s been in my heart all these years. If she’s married, then that’s okay. At least when I finally say it, maybe I can move on. Not immediately… but eventually.”

A man in a driver’s uniform approached them from behind. “Excuse me, Sir. We need to leave.”

The well-dressed man—clearly someone important—stood up. He slipped his hands into his pockets, looking sharp in his suit.

“So if I were you,” he said to William, “stop ignoring her. It’s obvious you feel something for her too. You never know—by the time you’re ready to confess, she might already be the one letting go. She’s brave enough to show her feelings. The question is whether you’ll fulfill that wish or hurt her in the end… just like what happened to me.”

He smiled one last time.

“It was a pleasure meeting you. Take care on your way home.”

Then he walked away.

William just stared at Daniella, then at her paper—every answer perfect, even though she only finished up to number twenty.

Daniella’s eyes twitched as she slowly woke up. “I fell asleep?”

She looked at William. “Are you done checking my paper? Let me see.” She held out her hand while fixing her hair with the other.

“Not yet,” William replied bluntly, making her stop.

“What do you mean ‘not yet’? We’ve been here for about an hour! Why isn’t it done?”

“I got lazy, so I’ll finish it another day.”

Daniella stared at him, mouth open. “Then what did you do while I was sleeping?”

“Read a book,” he said flatly.

She gave him a look of pure disbelief.

“Then what are we still doing here? Let’s go home! I could’ve continued sleeping in my own bed—where I should’ve been an hour ago!” she snapped, stressed and irritated.

William ignored her and walked away ahead of her.

“Wow! He even has the nerve to leave first,” she muttered, pouting as she watched him walk off.

I don’t know if he’s just numb or straight-up denser than anesthesia.

She finally stood and followed him, though there was now quite a distance between them.