Two lives.

31. Burning holes

June 1st
2:34 PM

Fourth period dragged on forever. Caylus wasn’t there today—he’d texted earlier saying he was “sick,” but with Caylus, who even knew if that was true? He was my only friend in that class, so without him, I felt like I didn’t exist. I slouched in my seat at the back of the room, doodling on my paper to pass the time.

The teacher’s voice was just white noise in the background as I scribbled random shapes and half-finished words. My eyes kept flicking to the door, hoping, maybe irrationally, that one of my friends might walk by. If they did, it would give me a perfect excuse to leave—I’d just bolt out the door and pretend I had some urgent reason to talk to them. But no one came.

Minutes ticked by like hours, and I gave up on pretending to care about anything happening in class. I rested my chin on my hand, staring at the squiggles on my paper and barely keeping my eyes open.

Then, finally, the bell rang.

I shot out of my seat faster than anyone else, grabbing my stuff without even glancing back at the teacher. My chair scraped loudly across the floor, earning a couple of annoyed looks from the people around me, but I didn’t care. I was free.

The hallway was buzzing with the usual between-class chaos: people rushing to their lockers, laughing too loudly, or huddling in groups like they owned the place. I weaved through the crowd, scanning for familiar faces. Maybe Caylus was skipping fourth period but not actually “sick.” Or maybe Ekko, Ophelia, or someone else from the group was around.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I was searching for them more than I cared to admit. They’d become my anchors in this place, even if I sometimes felt like I was trying too hard to keep up with them.

I turned the corner and walked toward the lounge. Before I even got halfway down the hallway, the loud, overlapping voices of Caylus and Skin reached my ears. They were arguing—again—probably about something as trivial as whose turn it was for a rematch. Their bickering was as predictable as it was ridiculous.

Rounding the final corner, I stepped into the open space of the lounge. It was the same chaotic scene as always, and I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips.

Ophelia and Andi were curled up together on one of the couches in the corner, looking like they’d been there for hours. Across from them, Ekko, Lucifer, and Colby occupied the other couch, their conversation drowned out by the noise around them. Twitch stood at the pool table, his arm twitching slightly as he leaned over to line up a shot, while Skin watched him with an exaggerated scowl, probably trying to psych him out.

Caylus, as usual, had planted himself on the floor in front of the TV, shouting at the screen like it owed him money.

“There you are!” Ophelia called out, her voice cutting through the noise. She shifted her legs to make space for me, patting the cushion beside her.

“Yeah, I took the long way,” I replied with a laugh, making my way over. Without hesitation, I flopped onto the couch, leaning back and resting my head on her legs, my legs swinging over the armrest like I owned the place.

Ophelia smirked, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. “Comfy?”

“Obviously,” I said, closing my eyes for a moment. The distant crack of the pool cue and the chaos of the room created a strange kind of comfort—loud, but familiar.

“You’re gonna make me lose circulation in my legs, you know,” she teased, poking my side gently.

“Small price to pay for my comfort,” I shot back, cracking one eye open.