The Night Everything Lost Sense

12. A Special Place

Class was always boring to Briar. He could never pay attention to his teachers and their presentations. There was always something more interesting to look at. The windows offered him a unique escape from monotone lectures. Distant city buildings, roads, green parks and small colorful shops were all in view. It put the world in perspective. It was both interesting and terrifying to him to think that there was a lot more to the world than what he experiences. His small circle of friends, the places he goes to, even his family, were all just small chunks of the world. Thinking that, he would often get anxiety. This time, the same thing happened. However, there was a slight difference.

He couldn't look at Soyoung and receive a comforting smile from her.

Briar stared at her abandoned table. His heart thumped against his chest to the point of it hurting. He couldn't blink as he watched her empty seat and desk. It looked almost unrecognizable. When Soyoung occupied it, it was cluttered with drawing and school supplies. Pencils, markers, stickers... she was always doodling something or coloring something. Briar always watched her draw during class. It calmed him. He admired her spirit and her need to cover everything with writing and tiny cartoon sketches.

Even now, as he sat in class and ached over her disappearance, he wore sneakers that Soyoung had written on. Was it endearing of him or messed up? He couldn't tell. All he knew is that he misses her. He could tell everybody misses her. He knew Seth is staring at her desk too. He knew everybody is looking at it.

Or were they looking at him?

Briar's heart staggered. He raised his gaze and turned his head. Nobody's eyes were on him. In fact, everybody was looking at the board. Briar's eyes fell back on Soyoung's desk. It felt odd to be the only one who's looking at an abandoned desk. Was nobody aware of it? Did they forget all about Soyoung?

Was he the only one thinking about her because of what happened?

The bell rung, surprising Briar so much that he gasped. Luckily, his gasp was drowned out by the sound of the bell and neither of his classmates paid attention to his widened eyes and distressed expression. He quickly collected himself and gathered his books before shoving them into his bookbag. He noticed his hands were shaking only after he tried to close his bookbag. The zip slipped out of his fingers twice.

He hoped nobody noticed how badly he was struggling, but of course, Seth was always looking after him. The boys approached him, wearing a reassuring smile and a glint of concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Briar quickly nodded. "Of course."

He clutched the zip tightly and swiftly pulled it all the way to the end. He gave Seth a faint smile before throwing his bookbag over his shoulder.

"Are you nervous?" Seth asked, confusing Briar. The latter tilted his head and furrowed his brows in confusion. Seth answered by raising one of his brows. "The date? Is that still on?"

Briar's jaw dropped. How could he forget about that? He didn't get to talk to Casey during lunch because the latter had to attend his basketball club's meeting, but he was sure that their date was still in plan. Casey had basketball practice a lot recently – he and his team were preparing for some competition. Briar felt extremely flattered knowing that Casey is busy yet that he still made time for their date.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed. "Yeah. It is."

"Did you forget about it?" Seth laughed.

"I guess... I don't know how," Briar admitted. His ears were starting to turn red.

"At least you didn't stress about it the entire day," Seth chuckled.

"You are right..."

"Well, I just wanted to wish you good luck. And to remind you to call me after and tell me everything."