𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 ( 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙡 )

𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙮-𝙤𝙣𝙚

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

seeing stars

"for your safety, i'll go in before you," formulated walker. "you'll go in after me, making us look separate. i'll text you."

"you're my knight in shining armor," i said.

when the bell sounded, he sighed and exchanged seats with violet. as she came nearer, she gave me an apologetic smile, on behalf of madeline, i hoped.

i had developed a liking for violet. she seemed more human. i could actually have a conversation with her and not feel judged or the need to judge. i was certain that her friends didn't like me, but she seemed to.

mrs fennel taught the class as if nothing happened: terribly. that was her usual. she gave the class a worksheet that taught everything for her as normal. and i wanted to rip my eyes out as normal. when she interrupted our focus, her words were her usual criticisms. both mr grant and mrs fennel were bad teachers, but one was a refreshing reminder that teenage adults existed and the other was the bane of my existence.

violet spoke after a while of silently filling out a chemical structure diagram. "i never thanked you for giving me the role. i'm actually so excited."

"oh, no problem! i'm also excited," i returned. "the cast is great."

"it really is. when do you think we're going to film? not to be pushy or anything."

i hesitated, mustering up a way to come across as sure and professional. "around the end of the month." yeah -- that sounded about right! filming at the end of february. "of course, the official dates'll be discussed in the group chats. you put your number in, right?"

"mhm! i felt so elite scanning qr code 1," she giggled. "so, who's your favorite criminal minds character?"

the abrupt change in topic along with the realization that i haven't watched more than the episodes that mr grant put on hit me like a monster truck. "uh, probably elle," i improvised.

she sharply inhaled, turning over the worksheet. "oh... that's unfortunate. don't you wish she got more time on the show?"

"yeah, totally!" i forgot which one elle even was. worried she'd ask me more, i urged, "who's your favorite?"

immediately, she raved, "definitely reid." if she had said any other character, i would have been thrown out of my chair in shock.

we ended up talking until the end of the single period. luckily, about other shows and things i didn't have to make stuff up about. the whole class had their papers turned in and were waiting for passing period to start. violet waved goodbye to me and we parted ways, her heading to her group and me heading to my person.

"hello." walker greeted me with a tight smile. "ready for gym?"

"of course. are you ready for gym? the class where i absolutely destroy your ass in basketball," i had to remind him.