A Story Of Three People - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We knew each other in that distant, casual way where, if we happened to pass each other on the street, we'd simply nod and say hello.

Derek asked me why Alethea and I weren't friends anymore.

I was genuinely surprised.

Derek and I had never been close enough for me to confide in her. Besides, back in high school, although she was a girl with a strong personality, she was also quite reserved and didn't have many friends.

And yet, what surprised me most was myself.

I don't know why, but I replied to her message.

And I told her everything.

Maybe there was something about Derek that made me feel I could trust her. Something quiet, thoughtful, and deep.

And perhaps, more than anything else, I simply needed someone to talk to.

Someone I could tell everything to.

Maybe that was what I needed most at the time.

I don't even know when it happened, but somehow, Derek and I became close.

I could tell her anything—anything at all. Every thought, every feeling, every little thing that had been weighing on me. I could talk to her naturally, without having to think twice.

They were things I had never been able to confide in Alethea.

I was someone who lived mostly inside his own head, someone my friends often described as overly sensitive and emotional.

Perhaps that was why Derek and I understood each other so easily.

Perhaps, in some strange way, we were simply meant to become friends.

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Even though Amory and I hadn't been particularly close in high school, I knew quite a bit about Derek because she was one of the most noticeable girls in our class.

She had a strong personality, both in the way she thought and in the way she carried herself. And she was incredibly smart.

One thing that had always stayed with me was the time she stood up and argued with our notoriously strict homeroom teacher because he had given the wrong solution to a problem.

I also remembered how Derek almost always hung out with the boys.

To be honest, I hadn't paid much attention to her back then. All I really knew was that quite a few guys at school had a crush on her. I also assumed that she didn't care much about friendships because she was rather withdrawn.

That was all I thought I knew about her.

But after spending more time talking to her, I gradually realized that beneath her rough exterior was a deeply sensitive heart—a heart capable of understanding, empathizing, sharing, and caring for the people around her.

She simply cared in her own way.

A way that was uniquely Derek.

And only those who were truly close to her could see it.

I was in the same university class as Amity—a guy who was remarkably intelligent, both academically and when it came to understanding life.

Amity had a real way with words. He knew exactly how to talk to people and how to approach them. But somehow, I never liked that particular style of his.

Even though he was only a first-year university student, Amity seemed to understand people and life far more than most people his age.