Oblivion ✓

B| parents' ball I

Highschool

JOSEPHINE

"That would be all for today. Please remember to bring your book presentations tomorrow, yes Jackson, I'm mostly talking to you, and Josephine, could you stay for a moment?" Miss Walters glanced at me briefly to make sure I had heard her, and I swallowed. What had I done wrong? Oh God, I hope I'm not being sent to the principal's office. It must be about my missing biology homework.

My heart pounding, I slowly began packing my bag and saw Maya and Janu signaling that they'd wait for me. Thank goodness. The classroom was emptying out, and reluctantly, I walked up to the teacher's desk. "Yes, Miss Walters?"

"Josephine," Miss Walters began gently, "I just wanted to remind you that I'm still waiting for a response regarding the parents' ball. It's really important that we get an answer from you, so we can finalize the details. I hope everything is alright."

I felt my stomach tighten. I hadn't forgotten about the invitation. In fact, I had deliberately avoided giving Vito the invitation, since I was sure he wouldn't want to attend. After all, it wasn't like him to get involved in such formal events, and he surely had more important things to do than a stupid ball. So, I had kept quiet, hoping the matter would fade away.

But now Miss Walters was looking at me expectantly. I tried to smile, but it came out more as a nervous twitch of my lips. "I- I'm sorry, Miss Walters," I stammered. "I haven't had the chance to talk to Vito about it yet, and I think I lost my invitation."

She grinned knowingly. "Well, lucky for you, I still have one here." She reached into her bag and handed me a new invitation. I muttered a soft thank you as I took it from her. "That would be all from me," she said, her tone lighter now. "Do you have anything else to add?"

I hastily shook my head, eager to leave. "No, nothing else," I mumbled, still flustered, glad to be escaping the conversation.

"Alright then," she said, her voice warm. "Oh, and Josephine, I want you to know you're doing really well. You're keeping up with the others, and you're doing great."

I froze for a second. The unexpected praise made me feel a little lighter, and a tiny spark of pride flickered inside me. Miss Walters had always been kind, but hearing her acknowledge my efforts, especially when I was feeling overwhelmed, meant more than I realized. "Thank you, Miss Walters," I said softly. With that, I turned and left the classroom, the door closing behind me with a soft click. As I walked down the hallway, the invitation still clutched in my hand, I felt a mix of relief and unease. I was going to have to talk to Vito about this soon, but for now, at least I didn't have to worry about it anymore.

As I rounded the corner, I spotted Maya and Janu waiting for me by the lockers. They grinned as I approached, both looking at the blue paper in my hand. "So, what are you going to do about the ball?" Janu asked, her tone light.

I shrugged, not quite sure how to explain myself. "I haven't even talked to him yet. I think he'll probably say no, though. He's not into that kind of thing."

Maya nodded slowly, then sighed. "I get it. I'm having a hard time with it too, to be honest."

Janu raised an eyebrow. "Why? You're not planning to skip, are you?"

Maya shook her head. "No, I'm going. But my parents are divorced, and they can't stand each other. I don't even know who I should take. If I ask my dad, mum will probably be mad at my dad. And if I ask my mum, it'll be the same. It just feels— I don't know. Like I'll be making everything worse no matter what I do."

There was a sadness in Maya's voice that made me feel a bit guilty. I had never really thought about how difficult it must be for her to navigate situations like this. "I'm sorry, Maya," I said softly. "That sounds really tough."