ANNA'S POV:
After school, I went with Sevi to his studio.
The place was quiet compared to the chaos of school, almost too quiet. The soft hum of the air conditioner filled the room while the golden light of the late afternoon spilled through the tall windows, painting everything in warm shades of orange.
Sevi tossed his bag onto the couch and pulled a chair toward the desk in the corner. Papers, sketchbooks, and random pens were scattered everywhere, like his usual mess somehow made sense only to him.
I crossed my arms and leaned against the desk, watching him.
"So…" I exhaled. "How should we start?"
Sevi grabbed a notebook and clicked his pen dramatically, as if we were detectives solving some world-class mystery.
"First," he said, pointing the pen at me like some serious investigator, "we write down everything Theo said about her."
I nodded, pulling another chair beside him and sitting down.
"Okay…" I tapped my finger against my chin, trying to remember every detail Theo had ever let slip. "He said she has long hair… and beautiful eyes."
Sevi immediately scribbled it down.
Long hair. Beautiful eyes.
He paused, then looked at me with a deadpan expression.
"A girl with long hair," he repeated slowly.
"And beautiful eyes," I added.
We both stared at the paper.
Then I frowned.
"How exactly are we supposed to figure out which girl has beautiful eyes?" I asked, turning toward him. "Everyone has a different definition of beauty. The eyes we think are beautiful might not be beautiful to him."
Sevi blinked, then nodded in reluctant agreement.
"You're right." He tapped the pen against the notebook. "That clue is basically useless."
I leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling, trying to remember more.
"He also said she's bossy," I muttered. "Full of attitude. And she has a boyfriend."
Sevi's eyes widened a little, and he quickly wrote it down.
Bossy. Attitude. Has a boyfriend.
He turned to me. "Is she from our school?"
I hesitated.
"I don't know… maybe?" I said slowly. "But he said she's his childhood crush. How likely is it that she's still in the same school as us?"
Sevi went quiet.
For a second, neither of us said anything.
Then suddenly, he sat up straight so fast the chair screeched against the floor.
"Wait."
I looked at him.
"In Theo's childhood…" he said slowly, as if putting puzzle pieces together one by one, "there were only two girls he was ever around that much."
My brows furrowed.
"Atasha and Kayla," he finished.
My breath caught.
Atasha.
Kayla.
My mind instantly rejected one of the names.
"It can't be Kayla," I blurted.
Sevi turned to me, eyes widening at the same time my own did.
And then,
We both gasped.
"Atasha!"