Breaking the Ice

Dalton hesitated as he stood beside Vanessa's desk.

His old seat was taken, and he had made it this far, but now, standing there, he wasn't sure what to say. His mind raced, the noise of students settling in around him only adding to the pressure. He glanced down at Vanessa, her head bent slightly over her notebook as she wrote something quickly, as if she hadn't noticed him standing there.

Should he ask? He could always pick another seat. There were plenty of open ones scattered across the room. But he couldn't shake the feeling that this was his moment—his chance to finally talk to her after all these years.

He took a breath, his mouth dry. "Uh... is this seat taken?"

Vanessa looked up, her eyes widening slightly as she noticed him. She blinked, clearly surprised, her brown eyes darting from his face to the empty seat beside her. For a moment, she didn't respond, and Dalton felt a wave of nervousness settle in. Was this a mistake?

Before she could answer, he quickly followed up. "May I sit here?"

Vanessa seemed startled by the question, her mouth opening slightly before she managed to respond. "S-sure." she stammered, her voice quiet, her eyes darting back down to her notebook.

Dalton exhaled in relief, trying to hide how awkward the moment felt. "Thanks," he muttered, sliding into the seat beside her. His hands fumbled slightly with his backpack, but he tried to act casual.

The awkwardness hung in the air between them.

Dalton fidgeted, searching for something to say. His heart was still racing from the interaction, and he could feel the tension between them. Vanessa kept her head down, scribbling notes as if nothing had happened, but Dalton could sense her unease. She wasn't cold, but she was definitely shy—maybe more awkward than he was.

Mr. Tamm's voice broke through the silence.

"Alright, class, welcome to Earth/Space Science!" he said with a grin. "I'm Mr. Tamm, and I'll be your guide through the mysteries of our planet and beyond. Today, we'll dive into one of the most fascinating subjects—planetary alignment and how it affects our solar system."

Dalton glanced up at Mr. Tamm, who seemed genuinely excited about the topic. The teacher's enthusiasm filled the room, making even something like planetary alignment sound interesting. Dalton respected that about him—he made learning feel important, even when most of the class wasn't paying attention.

But Dalton's focus drifted back to Vanessa.

She was still writing, her head down, focused on the lesson. Should he say something? His mind raced with possibilities, but nothing felt right. He glanced at her, hesitated, and then leaned over slightly, the words forming in his throat before he could stop them.

"Vanessa, right?"

Vanessa froze, her pencil pausing mid-note. She turned to look at him, her brown eyes wide with surprise, as if she hadn't expected him to know her name. "Yeah." she said slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. "How did you...?"

Dalton shrugged, trying to play it cool. "I remember from middle school." he said, his heart pounding. "We had a class together—Mr. Nero's class."

Vanessa blinked, her expression softening with surprise. "You remember that?"

"Yeah." Dalton nodded, feeling the tension ease slightly. "You sat behind me, I think."

For a moment, Vanessa just stared at him, clearly surprised that he remembered something about her from so long ago. Then she gave a small, shy smile. "I didn't think anyone would."

Dalton smiled awkwardly, feeling a little more confident. "Yeah, well... I guess I remember stuff like that."

The rest of the class passed by slowly.

Mr. Tamm continued his lesson, diving into the mechanics of planetary motion and the effects of gravitational pull during planetary alignments. But Dalton's focus wasn't entirely on the lecture. He could still feel Vanessa's presence beside him, and the tension from their brief exchange hung in the air.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, Dalton packed his things slowly, his mind racing with what to do next. Vanessa was still sitting there, tucking her notebook into her backpack. Should he say something else? He felt like he was running out of time.

He hesitated again.

"Hey, um..." Dalton started, his voice trailing off as Vanessa turned to look at him.

"Yeah?" she asked, her expression soft, though still shy.

"Do you... have the notes from last week?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck. "I was out for a few days and missed a bunch."

Vanessa blinked, as if she hadn't expected him to ask. "Oh, yeah." she said, pulling her notebook out of her bag. "Here, you can borrow mine if you need them."

Dalton took the notebook, their fingers brushing for a brief moment. "Thank you" he muttered, flipping it open.

As he scanned the pages, something caught his eye—sketches. Little drawings were scattered across the margins of her notes, detailed and intricate. They were anime-style characters, some of them full of life and movement, even in their tiny margins. He hadn't noticed them during class, but now, they jumped out at him.

"You're still drawing?" Dalton said, looking up from the notes. "I remember you used to do this in middle school, too."

Vanessa's eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn't expected him to bring it up. "You... noticed that?"

Dalton nodded. "Yeah. You were always really good at it."

For a second, Vanessa just stared at him, then, with a small, nervous laugh, she nodded. "Th-thanks.." she murmured. "I didn't think anyone noticed."

Dalton felt his heart skip a beat. He had noticed. All those years ago, he had noticed. And now, sitting next to her, he was glad he did.

The tension between them eased slightly.

Vanessa's shy smile lingered, and for the first time, Dalton felt like there was a connection, even if it was small. He handed the notebook back to her, feeling a little more confident. "Thanks. I'll catch up with these tonight."

Vanessa nodded, her smile still soft and unsure, but something had shifted between them. There was a connection now, however small, and Dalton felt the weight of it. As they stood there in the quiet aftermath of class, the awkwardness still hung in the air, but it didn't feel as overwhelming as it had before.

"Maybe this was the start of something." Dalton thought to himself.