Chapter Text
Darren is a 15-year-old boy who had only one friend, named Nadia. The two of them have been friends since childhood, but then they had to change schools, and Darren is still looking for her.
One day, he got ready for school; when he arrived, a group of boys with their girlfriends came towards him in the corridor. When Darren tried to walk past them, the lads stopped him and started teasing him because he didn’t have a girlfriend, but he didn’t respond and just kept a straight face; yet every time they bring it up, he feels a lump in his throat.
Afterwards, I went into the classroom, and the teacher introduced a new girl. When the girl arrived, Darren greeted her, and she did the same. During the break, Darren was walking around, thinking that maybe he would never have a girlfriend, and this upset him. After a while, he saw a crowd of people gathered around a fight, and the bully was beating up a boy. As the boy was held down, he begged for someone to help him. Darren didn’t want to draw attention to himself, but he stepped forward. He didn’t say anything, but the bully, seeing that he wanted to help, started raising his hands. Suddenly, Darren grabbed his backpack and hit him over the head with it. The boy had snapped. Darren took one of his snacks and handed it to the bully, saying, “Here,” and then he walked away.
That afternoon, Darren felt like he’d done something stupid, but then the boy he’d helped came up to him, thanked him, gave him his snack back and they ate together. They became friends, and eventually the boy told him his name: “Matthew.”
The next day, Darren arrived at school and saw Nadia; he said hello to her, but she saw him and ignored him. Shortly after, Matthew arrived with his new girlfriend; Darren realized that Matthew had managed to befriend that girl named “Sarah,” who also had a crush on Darren.
Matthew asked Darren who the girl was that he had said hello to. Darren began to tell him. After listening, Sarah said she knew Nadia because they had been in fourth grade together.
Suddenly, that group of bullies showed up again. When Sarah, Matthew, and Darren came face-to-face with the group, the bully zeroed in on Darren for a moment, then set his sights on Sarah.
Sarah caught on, and before the bully could say anything, she told him she wasn’t interested, but he tried to grab her hand. Darren stopped him, telling him to leave her alone. He pulled his hand back. The bully, irritated, wanted to punch them, but before he could, Nadia arrived and told him to stop.
As soon as Nadia saw Darren, she took the bully by the hand and walked away with him and the rest of the group. Darren finally realized that Nadia was avoiding him. After that, Matthew, Darren, and Sarah went to class. When it was time for recess, Matthew and Sarah went over to Darren and started talking about their childhoods.
Matthew said he had a fun childhood full of friends, and Sarah did too, but Darren had a lonely childhood. He explained that Nadia was the first friend he’d ever had, but then he found out that Nadia had switched schools.
From that moment on, Darren started looking for her, but now that Nadia is ignoring him, he regrets it.
After that, Sarah remembered she’d been invited to a party, so she invited Matthew and Darren to it and said Nadia was coming too. Then the bell rang, and they went back to class. After school, Darren, Sarah, and Matthew walked home together.
Along the way, Matthew told a story he’d heard around here about how, back in the ’90s, some boys and girls disappeared into a forest. Darren asked if they’d ever been found, but Matthew said no.
Sarah, uncountable, changed the subject, saying that since they were friends, why hadn’t they exchanged phone numbers? So, the three of them exchanged phone numbers.
Then, when they arrived at Darren’s house, Darren said goodbye and went home. While Darren was doing his homework, he got some messages saying that Matthew couldn’t come because they had guests, so Sarah asked if Darren would come. Darren asked his mom, and she said yes. He texted back saying he could come to the party.
After Darren confirmed he was coming, Sarah was over the moon and immediately replied with a message full of emojis: “That’s great. I’ll be waiting for you.” Before he got to the party, he dressed up and went. When Darren arrived at the party, he saw Sarah looking a little stressed, and Sarah saw him. Then Sarah, feeling embarrassed, asked Darren if he’d be her date, and Darren, a little taken aback, agreed.
After a while, he noticed that Sara wasn’t dressed up, so he asked why, and she said she didn’t know what to wear, so she asked him if he could help her choose an outfit, and Darren agreed. Sarah opened her bag, and Darren saw lots of clothes; he chose the blue dress. Darren zipped up the dress and put a necklace on her. Before leaving the bathroom, Darren stuck his arm out, and Sarah, blushing, took it.
When they went downstairs, Darren saw the bullies, but they didn’t see him. At first, they grabbed some snacks and drinks and chatted. Then Darren asked if they could sing together, and she nodded and agreed. They went to the DJ and asked if he could play a song. Together they began to sing “Die with a Smile,” a melancholic song about goodbyes and what is lost over time.
Darren started first, and when he began, Sarah was very surprised by how much Darren believed in himself. Their voices blended—timid at first, then more confident, almost in tune with an emotion they had never shared so openly. There’s something simple yet genuine between them.
But just as the second chorus begins, Nadia walks into the room.
She sees them on the small stage, side by side. Their voices, their gazes, the silence around them. It’s as if the world has shifted in a direction she doesn’t recognize. Her eyes filled with tears of anger, pain, and disappointment. Nadia runs off without saying a word. Only Sarah noticed right away. She stops, turning toward Darren with an uncertain look.<>
Darren stands still for a moment. Then he drops the microphone and runs toward the exit. By the time Darren reaches the exit, even Sara can no longer see Nadia. Sarah wonders what came over her and why she ran away. But Sarah and Darren don’t make too much of it and go back inside.
Toward the end of the party, the organizer announced that there were two “kings and queens of the night,” and it turned out to be Darren and Sarah. Darren and Sarah couldn’t believe it; it was the first time in their lives that this had happened. The group of bullies couldn’t believe it; they were very annoyed. After announcing them as the kings of the night, the organizer said to end the evening with a dance with their partners. A romantic song began to play, and Darren and Sarah felt the urge to dance together.
Darren held out his hand to Sarah, and she took it, and they walked onto the dance floor. And then they began to dance as if they were a pair. Darren, overjoyed, couldn’t believe that someone had agreed to dance with him for the first time. After the party, Sarah and Darren decided to go to Nadia’s house to see how she was doing, but first they went to Matthew’s house.
When they arrived at Matthew’s house, he was confused and asked what was going on. Darren began to explain that Nadia had left the party early and they wanted to go to her house to see how she was doing.
So, Darren, Sarah, and Matthew headed toward Nadia’s house. Darren didn’t know where Nadia lived, though, so he asked Sarah if she knew where she lived. Sarah said yes and showed him the way. When they arrived, it was almost 11 p.m.
When they got to the door, Darren knocked. Her mother opened the door. Sarah tried to explain who they were, but she thought it was a joke.
Then Darren asked if she recognized him. Her mother didn’t understand at first, but when she got a better look at him, she remembered him as Nadia’s childhood friend, so she let them in. When they sat down, Darren asked if Nadia was home, but his mother said she hadn’t come back yet because she was at a party.
Darren said she had just arrived and then ran off; his mother couldn’t figure out why, but then Darren instinctively asked if Nadia might have somewhere she was going. Her mother sighed and said that she goes to a place she herself doesn’t know, but maybe her friends do. After that, Darren thanked her mother, and before they left, she asked Darren to bring Nadia home, and Darren promised he would. Outside the house, Matthew asked Darren if he was really sure about what he’d said. Darren replied that he’d been looking for Nadia for a long time and now he’d do it again.
After that, Matthew told him that if he was going to look for her, he’d need a companion. In the end, Matthew joined Darren, so he asked Sarah, and Sarah said she’d follow him to the end. After that, Darren asked Sarah if she knew a friend of Nadia’s. Sarah replied that she knew someone—Nadia’s best friend, named Aurora—and that she was also an old friend of hers.
So, Darren said they had to find Aurora tomorrow. Then they got on their bikes and rode home; Matthew left first. When they arrived at Sarah’s house, Sarah told Darren that if he ever needed anything, he should just call her.
After that, Darren thanked her and said goodbye.
When he got home, he told his mother he was late and made up an excuse that there had been a long line. Just as he was about to go to sleep, he accidentally bumped into the bookshelf, and a small box fell out of it. Darren didn’t remember having that box, so, curious, he opened it and found a letter and a book titled “Nadia’s Book.”
But Darren decided to look at it tomorrow because he was very tired, so he closed it. Before going to sleep, however, he texted Matthew and Sarah to meet up tomorrow afternoon at the library.
That night, Darren had a dream in which he saw Nadia giving him the box and telling him to open it when he missed her. When he woke up, Darren spent the morning trying to remember what he and Nadia had done together when they were children. But unfortunately, he couldn’t remember.
At noon, after eating lunch, he packed a backpack, put the box inside, and went to the library. When Darren arrived at the library, he saw Matthew and Sarah sitting at a table, so he went over to them. Matthew asked why he was there. Darren replied, explaining that some time ago Nadia had given him a box, and he had never opened it, but last night the box had fallen off his bookshelf, so he opened it. Inside were a book and a letter. So, they opened the box, and inside were the book and the letter.
When Darren opened the first page, he discovered it was Nadia’s secret book. Darren gave the book to Sarah, while Darren and Matthew looked at the letter.
So, Darren opened the letter, and it read: “Dear Darren, now that you’ve opened the box, you’ll know that I gave you my secret book. I gave it to you because you’re my best friend and I trust you. That’s why I’m giving you my book—to remind you of me—because you’ve probably heard that I’m changing schools. I hope we’ll meet again someday. Finally, I want to tell you that I love you very much and that I’ve enjoyed having you as a friend, and you always will be. Best regards, Nadia.”
After reading it, she felt something behind the letter; there was a photo of Nadia and Darren from when they were little.
Right after that, Sarah said she’d found something in the book, so Darren and Matthew looked, and it said that Nadia has a place she goes to whenever she’s having a hard time, and there’s only one person who knows where she goes—and that’s Aurora. So, the three of them saw that the book contained all the information about Nadia’s friends.
They found Aurora’s address and rode their bikes to her house. When they arrived, Sarah rang the doorbell, and her mother opened the door. Sarah asked if Aurora was home; she said yes and called her. Aurora came out, but as soon as she saw Sarah, she told them they had to leave and then closed the door. Darren asked if they were still on good terms, but Sarah said they weren’t. But as soon as they left, Aurora opened the door and asked if it was Darren. Darren, confused, replied, “Yes.” Aurora said they could come inside.