Wings of Fire: Jade High School

Locker Revelations

Throwing her knit scarf around her, the tasseled ends swaying, Moon shut her locker, careful to make sure the precarious balance of books inside didn't tumble to the floor. She crouched down next to her bag at the base of her locker, pausing before she came to sit and lean against the lockers, sighing as she looked up at the ceiling. She was so done. With everything. Boys, Kestrel's math homework, the restless nights. She just wanted school to be over.

    Rapidly growing footsteps from down the hall caused Moon to crane her neck towards the sound. A figure appeared from around the corner.

    "Qibli?" Moon asked. He was running towards her, and Moon slowly got up to stand. "What is it?"

    "Run!" He raced past her, tugging her along by her hand as he went. Moon yelped with no idea where they were going but continued alongside him.

    "Where are we going?" she asked, breathless as they rounded another corner.

    "Anywhere but here," he said simply. Moon rolled her eyes--there was no use in being vague. "There!" He pointed towards an open locker in a deserted hallway. "Get in!"

    Before Moon could say anything she was ushered into the tight space, Qibli shutting the door as he shimmied himself in alongside her. She opened her mouth to say something and held up his hand for her to be quiet, but she batted it away.

    "Qibli!" she said in a frantic whisper. "You locked us in here!" She thought she saw a hint of a smile on his face through the dim light coming through the grates in the locker door, which only made her more annoyed.

    "Yes, technically, but I'm sure someone will come around at some point," he said, peering through the small window.

    Moon glared at him, opening her mouth to say something, but she closed it when she heard footsteps echoing through the hallway. Qibli put a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet.

    "Qibli!" A deep voice called, rattling the walls. Moon flinched, backing up against the back wall. Even making herself as small as possible, she was still a lot closer to Qibli than she preferred. "I know you're in here somewhere! I want my sandwich!"

    Moon glared at her locker-mate. "Sandwich?" she whispered as quietly as she could. She sighed, starting to recognize the voice. "Did you take Changbai's sandwich? Is that what this is all about? I thought it was something serious!"

    "I can neither confirm nor deny that fact," was all he said. The footsteps grew quieter and quieter until they were completely gone.

    "I can't believe you sometimes!" she said, all evidence of a whisper gone. "And now I'm stuck in here! I'm sure I've missed this bus." She tried to shift herself towards the front of the locker, one hand pressed up against his chest and the other against the wall. If she could just find a way to open it from the inside...

    "Well, I'm sorry I let you come along," he said, trying to act serious, but she could see in his eyes he wasn't in any sense of the word.
   
    "You're impossible sometimes," she said, trying to mess with the lock.

    "And you're... you're..." he hesitated, and Moon stopped trying to get out.

    "I'm what?"

    "Well..." he looked her in the eyes, and she saw him light up. "I'm not gonna lie, you're pretty great." Moon hoped it was dark enough that he wouldn't be able to see her cheeks go red.

    "Qibli, I'm not actually mad. You don't need to compliment me," she said, going back to fiddling with the lock.

    "No, Moon, that's not it." He gently grabbed her hand away from the lock, letting it fall back to her side. "You are great. And you're really smart. And so pretty."

    She was sure her heart was going a million times a minute. "Is that why we're in here? So you could tell me this? I would've listened if it was out in the hallway too," she joked, but her stomach was filled with butterflies. Something felt off. Qibli's usual confidence had worn off, and he looked nervous in a way she'd never seen before.

    "No, no, this was because of Changbai. But I've been meaning to tell you something anyway. For a long time. Moon, I-"

    "Who's in here!" Another voice called from outside, cold and icy.

    "Us! We're in here!" Moon said excitedly, pounding her hands against the door. She heard whirs and clicks and the door flew open. She lost her footing and yelped, reaching out her hand as she fell out, taking Qibli down with her. They landed side by side, facing each other, and Qibli chuckled as he looked at her. His confidence was back, but something still felt different, like he was laughing it off. Moon gave him a small smile, and he a crooked grin. It made her heart flutter, and she hated herself for it.

    She bolted upright when she remembered the person who'd let them out. "I'm so sorry! Thank you so-" she stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening. "Winter?"

Author's Note

Ok, that took a while. Funny thing is, I actually wrote this like a month ago, I just forgot my password... but I figured it out so it's all good! Hope you enjoyed, I left it on a bit of a cliffhanger! ;)