Every high schooler that has ever lived has said or done something that they wish they could take back. Even if they meant what they said or did, the memory always triggers a cringy feeling deep within their core. The type of cringe that makes one want to scream into a pillow wishing a time machine existed. For Amgis, this moment is settling itself into his brain as one such cringy memory for him to die over in the future.

Having just unintentionally confessed his feelings to his crush, a lag of time transpires for multiple silent moments. Amgis doesn’t dare turn around, hoping the reflection of Mia he sees in the mirror is just a mirage.

Rimorr smiles. Ear-to-ear. Using Amgis’ reflection.

Mia breaks the uncomfortable silence.

“I-I’m… sorry. I… forgot my backpack. W-What did you just say?”

The blood rushes out from Amgis’ face at the sound of Mia’s flustered voice. A voice that is easily comparable to a sweet song on a record player. Except, now it seems as if some dust has corroded the record. And as such, Amgis finds it difficult to sing along.

Mia walks into the bathroom. Letting the door shut behind her and opening the only escape route for Amgis. A route that he immediately takes advantage of. Before Mia can step two steps closer to him, he already is sliding through the closing door. His body moves with intention and purpose. Leaving his backpack behind.

“Amgis! Wait!”

He does not wait. Nor does he dare to look back. If he did, he would have seen Mia blush with very rosy red cheeks. He also would have seen her hands ball up into a fist. Dont ask why she did not try to run after him as she is clearly more athletic than him. Maybe she is questioning if she heard what Amgis said correctly.

He ran away without saying a word to her. Only someone extremely embarrassed would do something like that. Though, maybe she only heard the embarrassing part. Maybe there was another part before that led to what he said. That had to be it, but still, he said love. What can be said before such a word that diminishes the meaning of it?

Mia’s thoughts are clearly written on her face with such inquiries.

Amgis ran for one specific reason, though. The unfortunate truth about unintentionally revealing your heart to others is that you don’t know how they will respond. There is no telling if they will reciprocate your feelings or not. No matter how close of friends you are before. This is why Amgis ran away. Ran all the way to his home. Cursing at himself throughout the night. Barely getting any sleep.

Still, he returns to school the next day—backpackless. He goes to the Math building, where his first period is, instead of the Science building. Fortunately, there was no homework due or tests today for him, so his backpack was not desperately needed. The only useful thing in the backpack would be his notebooks, but he hardly took notes anyways.

As he walks through the halls of the Math building, these thoughts began to be overridden by thunderous whispers and severe stares of other students. The pressure of which quickly overwhelmed Amgis. His eyes bounce from person to person. His skin itches.

“Did you hear that he confessed to Mia Lefnee, yesterday?” he hears one girl in a group say.

“Who does he think he is?” another replies.

The clicking of tongues and gnashing of teeth becomes more prominent to Amgis as the unnerving conversations about yesterday’s confession are finding the lips of every group he passes.

“Apparently, I heard from Pogsis that he’s used the haunted bathroom multiple times.”

“He’s not necessarily bad-looking, but Mia is way out of his league.”

“I bet the mirror doesn’t eat him because it feels pity.”

“Boys! Pay your respects. Another soldier has fallen. We all make mistakes, but take this as a lesson to never aim too high.”

“She was just being nice to him, and he took it the wrong way.”

Somehow, the news of his confession to Mia reached the talons of his peers within less than a day. A feat he never could have possibly imagined to be possible. He knew people would eventually find out, but he clearly did not prepare for it to be this quickly. The school day is set to start in a few minutes, but he swiftly exits the Math building. Heading towards the Science building.

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Voices of other students walking to their first period pierce his ears with more unpleasant feedback. Their jaws gnawing at him with ferocious vigor. His greatest fear of being eaten—figuratively—is playfully taunting him.

Keeping his head low, he promptly walks his way into the Science building and up to the second floor. The judgemental noise follows him here too. He can’t get away from it. It’s following him. Their mouths are closing around him.

“Ha! I knew you would come here!”

Amgis is met with the voice of a refined record player as he turns the corner to the bathroom hallway—hushing the clattering mouths around him. The sudden change of noise startles him enough to jump back a few steps and gasp. Only to realize a moment later that it is just Mia. His backpack is loosely in her hand as she leans against the wall. With her head inquisitively tilted towards him.

Instinctively, he backs away. The memories of yesterday still haunt him.

“No! Don’t you run away again!” Mia chides, catching his apprehensiveness. “If you do, I won’t give your backpack back.”

She waves the backpack from the top strap. Out of reach from Amgis. Not that he was overly concerned about retrieving his backpack. Yet, he still stops due to her provocations. Fearful that she will hate him forever if he were to cower away now.

“I’m sorry,” Amgis blurts out in a way that a servant would plead for forgiveness from their master.

The sudden apology catches Mia off guard.

“What are you apologizing for?”

Her voice is fainter now than before. Her eyes avoid making direct contact with where Amgis is standing. He, however, is looking directly at the inside of his own eyelids. To embarrassed to even open them near her. His voice is barely useable.

“For running away yesterday. For what I said. I was just repeating what Rimorr told me to say. I’m sorry for causing you any confusion or dismay. I understand that there is no way you would ever—”

“Amgis!” she interrupts him. “I didn’t tell anyone about your confession yesterday.”

“Huh?”

That thought had not occurred to Amgis. He was too preoccupied with thinking about what the other students were saying about him and not wanting to lose Mia as a friend. The thought of who spread the news of his confession did not cross his mind. If it had, Mia would have been the prime suspect.

“I just wanted you to know that. There was probably someone else that overheard… somehow. But that’s not important right now. You shouldn’t worry about what other people are saying and you shouldn’t be apologizing for that.”

“What should I be apologizing for?” Amgis asks—eyes still shut.

“Well… For starters, you should apologize for not telling me you loved me sooner,” her voice slightly wavers, but she continues, “and to my face. But if you were just saying that because Rimorr told you to, then I guess it doesn’t matter.”

Amgis’ face after what Mia says is quite literally the most hilariously confused face one could have. His cracked mask now bending from the abundance of unfamiliar emotions.

“No, that—” He stops himself from explaining. Realizing, despite his typical lack of astuteness, that she is just messing with him. “I mean… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Those words inflict a genuinely satisfied smile upon Mia’s face. Yet, both are still too embarrassed to look at each other. Mia’s eyes were open at least.

“No worries!” she says cheerfully, “and guess what?”

“Hm?”

“I—”

She raises his backpack over her lips as the morning bell rings. Hiding the words she speaks while her cheeks burn a rosy red. Amgis, back to his typical dense ways, does not catch this. His head tilts from confusion, but before he can ask what she said, she hands his backpack to him—forcing his eyes open.

“You can have your backpack back.”

He accepts the backpack halfheartedly. Not sure whether he should be thankful for its return or not. While his mind continues through its spasms, Mia walks past him toward the stairs. But, before she completely turns the corner, she looks back at Amgis. Directly at him.

“Would you want to meet up after school and go somewhere?”

Her sweet, record player voice sings into his ears. Reverberating throughout his brain twenty-thousand times in less than a second.

“Sure!” He replies before he even seems to understand what Mia has asked.

“Cool,” she smiles, brightly. “We can figure out where after lunch. See you then!”

Amgis drops his backpack from shock a few moments after Mia leaves. The realization of being asked out on a date slowly revokes all the control over his body and mind. In a fit of excitement, he curls towards the ground and cocks his vibrating fists to his sides. Building up the energy to explode his arms above his head in a victorious ‘V’ shape. He does not yell or scream in conjunction with said pose, as one normally does, but it still conveys his overwhelmingly positive emotions.

He sticks to the pose for a few moments—only dropping when the second bell ring. If he is not in class by the third ring, he can be in big trouble. Not wanting to face that, he excitedly slings his backpack to his back and rushes to his first period in the Math building. The mouths began talking as he sped through again, but their voices were much quieter than before. He barely heard a whisper over the beating of his heart.

Now, one may ask if Rimorr heard the entire interaction between Mia and Amgis. The answer to which would be yes. Yes, it did. And if it had a reflection to display emotions at the time, it would most likely be tearing everything down…

Joyfully.