# Fault line

Jarel's POV :

I knew it was going to be a problem the second I walked in.

She was already there, adjusting the slides for the fourth time, muttering to herself and looking way too ready for a fight.

“You’re late,” she said, without turning.

“I’m here,” I replied.

“That’s not the same thing.”

I dropped my bag on the desk. “The slides were fine yesterday.”

“They weren’t clean.”

“They were fine.”

She turned then, arms crossed. “Maybe to you. But I actually care how we present.”

“I care too,” I said. “I just don’t need to micromanage to prove it.”

That landed. She tilted her head, smiled — that kind of smile that meant 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘦.

“You know what your problem is?” she said.

“Only one?”

“You think silence makes you superior. Like if you don’t say much, it must mean you’re deep.”

“And you think talking louder makes you right.”

She stepped forward. “At least I talk. You just sit there like you’re too good for the rest of us.”

“I don’t think I’m too good,” I said. “I think I’m not interested.”

“In what? Collaboration? Basic decency?”

“In the performance,” I said. “You don’t want a teammate, Clara. You want a spotlight.”

That hit something. Fast.

She stared at me like I’d just ripped up her script mid-scene.

“You’re a jerk,” she said flatly.

“Maybe,” I said. “But I’m not pretending to be something I’m not.”

“You think I am?”

I shrugged.

And that’s when she stepped closer.

“You walk around like you’ve figured everything out,” she said. “Like being quiet makes you smarter. But here’s a thought — maybe you’re just scared of being seen.”

Mathis stood up from the back of the room. “Okay—”

Clara kept going. “You’re not impressive, Jarel. People just project onto you because you’re blank enough to be whatever they want.”

I looked her dead in the eye.

“And you?” I said, voice low. “You talk too much because you’re terrified of being average.”

She froze.

Mathis winced. “Bro—”

“Don’t,” I said.

But Clara didn’t flinch. She didn’t break. She just stared at me, jaw tight, chest rising a little too fast.

Then she grabbed her folder and left.

No yelling. No tears. Just exit.

The door clicked behind her.

...----------------...

No one said anything for a while.

Mathis let out a slow breath. “Man… you really said that.”

“She said worse.”

“Sure. But you hit where it hurts.”

I didn’t argue.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

“She started it.”

“She always starts it,” he said. “You’re the one who finishes it like a sniper.”

I didn’t reply.

Because it wasn’t planned. But it also wasn’t accidental.

I packed up. Quiet.

Elka didn’t say a word.

The doc stayed untouched that night.

For once, I didn’t care about the slides.

And I didn’t know if she’d show up tomorrow.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***