Chapter 5: The Person Who Never Arrived

Third-person POV

The second day of freshman orientation at Northfield University was almost over.

The crowds of new students checking in had slowly become smaller. Mabel's camera had captured countless unfamiliar faces, but not a single one belonged to the person she was looking for.

She had originally planned to film an enrollment memory video for Alvin Colton. She thought that would help them move past their argument during the trip.

But now...

Mabel frowned. After finding the business school's registration area for the third time, she finally stopped one of the student volunteers.

"Excuse me, has Alvin Colton registered yet?"

The volunteer searched the list on his tablet before shaking his head. "There's no Alvin Colton enrolled in this department."

Mabel's expression changed. "That's impossible. Could you check again? Colton. C-O-L-T-O-N."

"I already searched the full name."

"Maybe he's in another department."

"You can ask at the information desk."

Mabel thanked him and hurried away.

Ethan had been following her for nearly an hour. He finally caught up and grabbed the strap of her camera bag.

"Mabel, maybe Alvin hasn't arrived yet. Why are you panicking?"

She pulled the strap away. "He should've arrived yesterday."

"Maybe his flight was delayed."

"He wasn't taking a flight."

The words came out automatically.

Mabel froze.

She and Alvin had discussed their enrollment trip months ago. They had planned to take the same train, arrive together, eat at the little restaurant near campus, and spend the evening exploring Northfield.

She had remembered every detail.

She simply hadn't contacted him during the summer because she was still angry.

She thought Alvin would eventually come looking for her first.

He always did.

Whenever they argued as children, Alvin would appear outside her house the next morning with her favorite candy.

Whenever she ignored him at school, he would quietly leave milk on her desk.

Even during their graduation trip, she had believed his anger would disappear after a few days.

Two months had passed.

He hadn't come back.

For the first time, uneasiness crept into her chest.

Mabel called Alvin again.

The call rang until it disconnected.

She sent another message.

"Where are you? Registration is almost over."

No reply.

Ethan looked at her phone and gave a small laugh. "He's probably still trying to make you nervous. Once he realizes you're not chasing him, he'll show up."

Mabel looked at Ethan.

That was exactly what she had told herself all summer.

But suddenly, she wasn't so certain.

She called her mother.

The moment the call connected, Mabel asked, "Mom, did Aunt Willow tell you what time Alvin was leaving?"

Her mother sounded confused. "Leaving for where?"

"Northfield. Where else?"

There was a brief silence.

"Mabel, didn't you know?"

Her heart dropped.

"Know what?"

"Alvin changed his college application. Willow said he went to Portwell."

Mabel stopped breathing.

Students moved around her in every direction, but the entire campus suddenly seemed silent.

"Portwell?" she repeated.

"Yes. I thought he told you. You two grew up together."

Mabel lowered the phone slowly.

Portwell was hundreds of miles away.

This wasn't Alvin choosing another dorm or another department.

He had changed the future they had planned together.

And he hadn't even told her.

Ethan noticed her expression. "What happened?"

Mabel turned toward him.

"Alvin went to Portwell."

Ethan blinked. "Seriously?"

"He changed his application."

"Maybe he couldn't get into Northfield."

Mabel's eyes instantly hardened. "His grades were better than yours."

Ethan's expression stiffened.

She didn't notice.

Her thoughts were already racing backward.

The breakfast table.

Alvin saying he didn't care whether she liked Ethan.

Alvin telling her to respect his boundaries.

Alvin leaving the graduation trip early.

And before that...

"Then we just won't keep in touch anymore."

At the time, she thought he was throwing a tantrum.

Now she realized he had been telling her goodbye.

Mabel immediately opened her social media account.

Alvin's latest post was from Portwell.

The photograph showed him standing beneath the university's stone archway, sunlight falling across his face.

He was smiling.

The caption contained only four words.

"A different view ahead."

There were dozens of comments congratulating him.

Mabel scrolled through them until one caught her attention.

"The seaside photos were already amazing, but this one might be my favorite. Good luck in Portwell!"

The account belonged to a girl named Serena Hale.

Her profile picture looked strangely familiar.

Mabel enlarged it.

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

It was the photographer from the beach.

The same girl Mabel had casually stopped because she didn't want to continue taking Alvin's pictures.

Mabel clicked Serena's profile.

The newest post was a photograph of the Portwell campus.

"First semester. New city. New portfolio."

Mabel's heart sank further.

She and Alvin were attending the same university.

Ethan leaned closer. "Who's that?"

Mabel locked her phone immediately.

"Nobody."

But the word sounded bitter even to her.

That night, Mabel returned to her dorm and opened the folder containing all the photographs she had taken over the past year.

There were hundreds of Ethan.

She had once thought they were her best work.

For some reason, tonight they all looked repetitive.

She opened an older hard drive.

The first folder was labeled "Alvin."

There were thousands.

Alvin asleep at his desk.

Alvin laughing while eating noodles.

Alvin standing beneath cherry blossoms.

Alvin turning around because she had called his name.

The photographs were imperfect.

Some were blurred. Some were badly exposed.

Yet every one felt alive.

Mabel suddenly remembered what she had once told him.

"Because there's love behind the camera. When you love someone, every picture turns out beautiful."

Her throat tightened.

She picked up her phone and called Alvin again.

This time, the call didn't even ring.

A mechanical voice informed her that the number was unavailable.

Mabel stared at the screen.

Then she finally understood.

Alvin hadn't simply gone to Portwell.

He had removed her from the picture.