OCD | ✓

2

The next day

M A Y

I tap my locker six times and make my way to class.

I check my phone and stop. Once the minute mark hits 12, I enter the class and make my way to my seat.

I pause as I see the guy in my seat today.

I swallow. I don't have to sit in his seat today. I don't want to sit in that seat anymore. I have to sit in mine.

He looks up as I get closer, a guarded look on his face, his jaw hard.

"I'm sitting here today," he says and I still. I cannot say no. I did that to him yesterday.

I tap my feet six times and turn to sit in his desk again.

My leg shakes as thoughts fill my brain. I take my phone out. This sudden urge to unlock it and lock it taking over.

I unlock and lock my phone six times before opening my mom's chat and asking her how her day is going.

I want to know that she's okay. That everyone is okay.

I scratch my hair on the right side, but then I scratch it on the left side too to balance it.

Once mom replies with good enough answers, I sigh and turn of my phone and then look up to focus in class.

I see the teacher wrote a definition on the board. I read what it says and read it again.

And again.

And again.

Until I read it six times.

I hear the teacher call someone's name since they weren't paying attention.

"Owen get of your phone please before I take it away."

I turn around to see who the teacher was talking to. I see the guy who I bumped into roll his eyes and put his phone away.

So his name is Owen.

I turn back around to write down the definition on the board but I feel something off.

I feel eyes on me so I turn around and see Owen staring at me. He looks at away once he sees my turn around and I turn to look back too, frowning before I write the words down that are on the board six times in my notebook.