Stay or Restart - A Short Story

A Short Story - Stay or Restart?

Penulis: Afifah Fayza – UKI

After failing a grade, Ayu has to choose stay and face it, or restart and run away. Along the way, she learns that starting over isn’t about hiding your failure, but growing from it.

The Report Card Day

The air felt heavy that afternoon. Ayu sat in the living room, her report card on her lap unopened yet, but she already knew. Her mother’s sigh filled the silence like a slow leak in a balloon.

“Ayu… you didn’t move up to the next grade,” her mother said quietly.

Her father’s voice followed, lower and sharper. “How could this happen? You studied every night, didn’t you?”

Ayu wanted to disappear into the floor. She nodded weakly, but no words came out. She had studied, but her mind had been too full anxiety, pressure, the fear of not being enough. Now that fear had come true.

She wasn’t moving up. And worse, her parents’ faces looked like she had just shattered the family’s pride.

The Whisper of Shame

The next morning, Ayu scrolled through her class group chat. Everyone was talking about new class placements, new homerooms, new teachers. She locked her phone before the words could sting more.   They’ll all know, she thought. They’ll know I failed.  

At school, Mita her best friend ran up to her, smiling.

“Hey, where’ve you been? I was looking for you after the results!”

  Ayu forced a smile. “I… didn’t pass.”   Mita froze. For a second, Ayu braced herself for pity or awkwardness. But instead, Mita just said softly,

“It’s okay. You can still start again. Doesn’t change who you are.”  

That night, her parents called her into the dining room. Her father had a few papers on the table one from her current school, another from a private school nearby.  

“We’ve been thinking,” he began carefully. “You have two options. You can stay here and repeat the year… or transfer to this school and continue with a new start.

  Her mother added gently,   Ayu stared at the papers. Two paths, both heavy with meaning.

“Stay or restart,” she whispered, feeling the words settle deep inside her chest.

The Decision

Couple days , Ayu avoided everyone. She spent her afternoons in the small treehouse, her quiet place, her secret world above the noise.

She’d been staring at the two papers her father gave her: the re-enrollment form for her current school and the transfer form for the new one. Each time she looked at them, her chest tightened.

Stay and face everyone, the whispers, the shame. Restart and leave everything behind, pretending it never happened.

When Mita climbed up the ladder one afternoon, Ayu didn’t even look surprised. “So this is where you’ve been hiding,” Mita said softly.

Ayu held up the two forms. “One means I start over somewhere no one knows me. The other means I face everyone who already knows I failed.”

Mita sat beside her. “And which one scares you more?”

Ayu looked out through the branches, at the sunlight slipping through the leaves. “Both,” she admitted.

“But… maybe the one that helps me grow is the one that hurts first.”

The New Beginning

That evening, Ayu found her parents in the living room. The forms were still on the table, untouched. She took a deep breath.

“I’ve made my choice,” she said quietly.

Her father looked up from his laptop. “You have?”

“I’m staying,” Ayu said, her voice steady even though her hands trembled.

“I’ll repeat the year.”

Her mother’s eyes softened. “Are you sure, dear? You don’t have to push yourself just to prove something.”

Ayu shook her head. “It’s not about proving anything. It’s about learning how to face things I ran away from. I want to understand where I went wrong not hide from it.”

There was a long silence. Her father leaned back, exhaling slowly. He didn’t look angry this time just tired, and maybe a little proud.

Finally, he nodded. “Alright. If that’s what you want… we’ll stand by you.”

For the first time in weeks, Ayu felt her chest lighten. She wasn’t fixed, not yet but she had stopped pretending she was broken.