Chapter 4: A Glimpse of Feelings

As weeks turned into months, Ginah and Miya's bond grew stronger, yet more complicated. What had started as a simple tutoring arrangement had gradually morphed into something far more intricate and delicate. Their Saturdays, once purely academic, had evolved into more personal meetings, where laughter flowed as easily as the lessons they shared. In the quiet moments between explanations and scribbled notes, Ginah found herself savoring the time they spent together, cherishing the sound of Miya's voice and the way her eyes sparkled when she got excited about something. It was hard to ignore the way Miya's presence seemed to fill the room in a way no one else could.

Miya, for her part, had begun to notice a change too. She wasn't just looking forward to their sessions for the sake of studying anymore. Ginah's thoughtful questions and her quiet, attentive manner had become a comforting constant in her life. Miya realized, almost with surprise, that she felt a warmth whenever Ginah was around—a warmth she had never expected to feel for a friend. She tried to push the thoughts away, burying them under layers of uncertainty. But the more she saw Ginah's shy smiles, the more she caught the glint of curiosity in her eyes, the harder it became to deny the growing pull between them.

One afternoon, as the two sat at their usual spot in the corner of the café, surrounded by textbooks and scribbled notes, the conversation shifted. The topic of the exam seemed to lose its urgency as Ginah distractedly brushed her hair from her face. Miya, whose eyes had been tracing the lines of the textbook, found herself watching Ginah more intently than she intended. When Ginah's hair fell across her face again, Miya reached out, gently tucking the strand behind Ginah's ear. The simple, intimate gesture sent a thrill through both of them, though neither said a word about it.

For a fleeting moment, time seemed to stand still. Ginah froze, her heart beating loudly in her chest as a jolt of electricity shot through her. She wasn't sure if it was the gentle touch of Miya's fingers against her skin or the silent promise of something more that lingered in the air, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the moment held more weight than either of them were willing to admit. She glanced up at Miya, her breath catching in her throat. Miya's expression was unreadable, her eyes momentarily locked with Ginah's before quickly breaking the connection with a soft, almost shy smile.

"Sorry," Miya muttered, though there was no real apology in her tone. "You had a bit of hair in your face."

Ginah, flustered, averted her gaze, hoping Miya didn't notice the blush spreading across her cheeks. She nodded quickly, her mind a whirl of emotions that she struggled to put into words. Had she felt it too? The question echoed in her mind, and though Ginah didn't voice it, it consumed her. For the rest of the study session, her mind wandered, drifting back to that brief, tender touch. She couldn't help but wonder if Miya's feelings mirrored her own, if the moments they shared weren't just friendly affection but something deeper.

Meanwhile, Miya found herself retreating into her own thoughts, unsure how to navigate the growing tension between them. She had felt the same spark when she touched Ginah's hair, the undeniable electricity that seemed to hum in the air. But she wasn't sure where to go from there. Was it just a fleeting moment? Or was there something more to it? Miya caught herself watching Ginah more than was necessary, noticing how the other girl's eyes seemed to linger on her, the way her lips curled up in a half-smile when they shared a joke. Her feelings, once easy to dismiss, now felt much harder to ignore.

The silence between them after that moment seemed charged with an energy neither of them knew how to navigate. Ginah tried to focus on the material, but her mind kept straying to Miya—how close she had been, how her presence seemed to surround her in ways she hadn't noticed before. The occasional glance Miya gave her, followed by a quick look away, made her wonder if the feelings were mutual. Was Miya hiding something? Or was it just her own growing affections making her read too much into the situation?

As they packed up their things, the air between them felt heavy with unspoken words. Ginah's heart thudded in her chest, her nerves pulsing as she wondered what would happen next. Would they continue like this, tiptoeing around their feelings? Or would one of them eventually break the silence and speak their truth?

"Well, I guess I'll see you next Saturday?" Miya asked, a hint of uncertainty in her voice that wasn't there before.

"Yeah," Ginah replied, her voice quieter than usual, betraying the mix of emotions she felt. "Next Saturday."

They walked out of the café together, side by side, but there was an undeniable distance between them now, a distance neither of them had felt before. The unspoken tension lingered in the air, and as they said their goodbyes and parted ways, Ginah's thoughts ran wild with possibilities. Could they both navigate this shift? What if Miya didn't feel the same way? But despite the uncertainty, one thing was clear: their relationship had changed. The quiet moments they shared, the looks exchanged, the touches that seemed to linger—these were no longer just the simple gestures of friendship. They were the first tentative steps toward something new, something neither of them could fully name yet. The question that remained was whether they would have the courage to take the next step.

As Ginah walked home, the cool evening air did little to calm her racing thoughts. Her heart was full of hope and trepidation, wondering if, just maybe, next Saturday might bring with it the answers she longed for.