On the sixth day, something happened that Ray would never forget, for better or worse.
The group activity that day was mixed soccer, and Hana, along with her friend Sarah, were in charge of selecting each player. Ray watched as they picked one by one, and slowly, the area around him emptied; even his friends Tai and Cris were chosen before him.
"Seriously, they're going to leave me last?" Ray murmured, staring at the ground.
In the end, only two people remained. Sarah leaned close to Hana and whispered:
"Sorry, friend, but I'm leaving your crush for you…" she winked.
Ray heard enough to understand they were talking about him and lowered his gaze again, nervous. Then Hana's voice called out:
"Hey, Ray! Come on, I've seen you play a few times, you're good but…"
As she approached, she teased lightly:
"Be careful not to hit the ground," she said, laughing.
Those words triggered a memory in Ray, one of many moments with Hana… when she helped him tend a wound, giving him an extra push without realizing it. Now, that small gesture gave him extra energy to give his all on the field.
Cris and Tai, seeing his reaction, couldn't help but shout:
"Oh no, the striker is awake!"
In a joking tone, exaggerating to the max.
The match began!
It was a regular game, a recreational activity for the students' fun, but for Ray and his friends, it had a different meaning: they couldn't afford to lose against each other.
"Come on, let's go!" Cris shouted, challenging Ray.
Ray grabbed the ball and ran through all his teammates, dodging them one by one until he faced Tai.
"This is as far as you go, striker," Tai said, smiling.
Ray dodged him skillfully and kicked the ball into the net, hitting the corner. His eyes met Tai's; he blew a playful kiss as he stepped aside, making it clear the match had just begun.
Hana watched the situation with honest curiosity, while Sarah regretted her choices.
"Really? I thought you guys were the good ones," she said, disappointed.
But the match didn't last long. It was like a flash of lightning in the middle of a storm… a spark that fades before the thunder strikes.
Just as the boys were about to take the next play…
"Now you'll see, Ray, damn it!" Tai said, as small raindrops began to fall, growing bigger and heavier. Without warning, the sky turned black, and a huge storm broke out, making everyone run to the cabins, leaving the ball forgotten in the middle of the field.
Ray didn't mind the rain; he simply walked to the ball, picked it up, held it firmly, and started walking slowly toward the cabin with a happy expression on his face.
"I can't wait to laugh at those idiots… they lost against me, both of them," he murmured triumphantly.
From the windows, the others whispered:
"Look at that crazy guy… what's he doing out there?""Is he really going to get wet?"
Ray smiled to himself, feeling that each raindrop wasn't a nuisance, but a reminder that every moment counts, and even in the rain, there are things you can't let pass.
At that moment, Ray heard a familiar voice—it was Hana.
"I don't get why everyone's running… it's just water, right?" she said, laughing as she splashed through puddles, playing as if she were enjoying the moment.
Ray froze for a moment. His nervousness was obvious, but his heart made a decision faster than his mind. His plan to confess his feelings on the last day had changed. The rain, the solitude of the field… it all seemed perfect to say what he felt. Remembering his failed attempt a few days ago, he simply said:
"Hana, I… I want to tell you something," Ray murmured, his voice trembling.
Hana, surprised, thought to herself: Is he talking to me? She had rarely heard his voice like that in the twelve years they had been classmates.
Ray continued, trying to gather courage:
"I… well, you…"
But she interrupted him without realizing:
"So you could talk?" she said with a playful wink before continuing to walk.
Ray took a deep breath, unable to stop, and shouted into the air:
"I like you!"
But the wind, the distance, and the sounds of students running out of their cabins at the sight of the school's most popular girl playing in puddles… carried his words away. She never heard them.
As they ran, a student stepped on a wet flower, crushing it in a puddle. Ray watched it, feeling reflected in it… even when you muster the courage to say what you feel, it's not always what's best for you.
Ray stood for a moment in the rain. His body didn't show sadness or pain… just a slight disappointment at seeing that so many years and efforts hadn't given him what he had hoped for.
He simply said into the air:
"I did all I could, and it's okay… I did it for love."
After so much time, so many days, so many weeks, Ray felt something had changed. He didn't consider it rejection, but he wasn't going to keep trying… his train had passed, or so he believed.
But this story doesn't end in high school…It was the beginning of something much bigger.