WonderEyes- Wonder the world through my eyes

I'm bored so I'mma vibe with Isis's brother

Song for Chapter: Tyla -Truth or Dare
Alicia's P.O.V

The first day of senior year was a blur of familiar faces and unfamiliar emotions. The hallways echoed with the usual cacophony of greetings and gossip, but for me, it felt like a movie playing on mute.  Isis strutted down the corridor, a vision in a designer mini-skirt and a perfectly applied pout.  Her smile, always dazzling and calculated, didn't reach her eyes today.  Maybe even she felt the weight of the summer's tragedies.  My gaze lingered on Rivers, Isis's twin brother, who leaned against his locker, a smirk playing on his lips.  He winked, breaking the spell of Isis's icy presence.  A tiny spark of defiance flickered within me – a much-needed distraction from the suffocating grief that had become my constant companion.

Locker slams jolted me out of my daze.  Lorenzo stood beside me, his face etched with the same weariness that mirrored my own.  Gone was the carefree teenager who had been my best friend and confidante just a few months ago.  In his place stood a stranger burdened with a responsibility that no seventeen-year-old should have to shoulder.

"Ready for the Hunger Games?" he muttered, his voice devoid of its usual teasing lilt.

"As ready as anyone can be," I replied, my voice a hoarse whisper.  The memory of the past year, a whirlwind of loss and uncertainty, threatened to pull me under.  Mom.  Dad.  Johnathan, my anchor vanished without a trace, leaving behind a gaping hole in my heart.  Senior year, a time of excitement and anticipation for most, loomed before us like a vast, uncharted sea.

The first class, a soul-crushing AP Calculus lecture, did little to alleviate the heaviness in my chest.  My mind wandered, replaying the events of Christmas morning.  The crumpled note from Dad, his words offering a hollow promise of a return that never materialized.  The silence on the other end of the phone when I tried to reach Johnathan - his usual upbeat voice replaced by a chilling emptiness. 

Lunch offered a temporary escape.  Rivers, his smile genuine and disarming, materialized beside me.  He chatted about summer plans and upcoming football games, his easy banter a welcome balm to my raw nerves.  For the first time in months, a genuine laugh escaped my lips.  Isis, of course, wasn't amused.  Her icy glare from across the cafeteria was a potent reminder of the invisible lines drawn in this social battlefield.

"You're sitting with him? In case you forgot, that's my brother!" she hissed, her voice dripping with disdain, when she finally graced me with her presence.

I met her gaze unflinchingly.  "He deserves company, doesn't he?  Unlike some people who disappear without a trace...and besides he's still my friend."

The barb hit its mark.  A flicker of pain crossed Isis's face, momentarily disarming her haughty facade.  Perhaps, just perhaps, even the queen bee wasn't immune to the sting of loss.

Later, in homeroom, while sorting through college applications, the reality of our situation hit me like a sucker punch.   How could I even think about the future, when the present felt like a never-ending nightmare?  Financial aid forms mocked me with their demands for parental information.  Colleges miles away felt like a distant dream, a reality I could barely comprehend.

Lorenzo, his face etched with worry,  placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.  "We'll figure it out, Ali! I trust us, okay.," he muttered, his voice heavy with a burden he should never have had to carry.