Drama Club

2. Destiny's POV

My dream ended abruptly with the sharp, metallic sound of my mom's voice echoing down the hall, pulling me away from the only place I was actually happy. I groaned, burying my face into the pillow and pulling the duvet over my head, trying to capture the fading, hazy image of Julian's smile. I had been dreaming of him again-a version of him that actually looked at me with heat in his eyes, a version where the distance between us didn't feel like a canyon. *Why doesn't he like me?* The question sat heavy in my chest, a dull, throbbing ache that wouldn't go away. *Am I just not worthy of a second glance?*

I spent the next forty minutes in a state of high-alert overthinking, running through every possible scenario for the day. I snapped on the delicate silver bracelet Alicia got me last Christmas-a lucky charm, I hoped-and pulled on a thick, oversized sweatshirt. It was a dark, heavy fabric that swallowed my frame, but it was intentional. It was exactly like the charcoal one Julian usually wears on Mondays. I figured if I couldn't have him, at least I could match him in a silent, pathetic sort of solidarity. It was a small comfort, but it was all I had to keep the shakes away.

The car ride with my mom was a blur of rain-streaked gray buildings and quiet, hollow daydreaming. I kept my temple pressed against the cold glass of the window, watching the town roll by while I checked my reflection in the visor mirror every five minutes. *Is my hair too flat? Do I look tired?* It was her weekend to have me, and being away from the familiar clutter of my dad and stepmom's house always made me feel off-balance, like I was walking on a tilted floor. She thinks our whole family situation is "weird"-the overlapping schedules, the complicated holiday rotations-and honestly, staring at my phone while she hummed some off-key tune to the radio, I couldn't even find the energy to argue with her.

When she finally dropped me off, the lobby was eerily quiet, the air smelling of floor wax and old rain. I was early-too early. I stood there near the trophy cases, feeling like a ghost haunting an empty hall, until the heavy double doors finally creaked open. Alicia, Taylor, and Audrianna spilled inside, their voices instantly filling the vacuum of the room with a chaotic energy.

They started talking-something about a bus driver's lecture and the icy roads-but I wasn't listening. My eyes were locked on a target. Julian was standing with his group of friends across the lobby, his laugh echoing off the tile like a physical touch against my skin. I caught him looking over at me-once, twice... was that a third time? My heart did a slow, painful somersault in my chest. *Does he actually like me?* I wondered, the hope flaring up before the cold dampness of doubt began to creep back in.

Suddenly, a hand flicked sharply in front of my face, cutting off my line of sight.

"Hello? Earth to the Girl in the Blanket! You're staring so hard I'm surprised his jacket hasn't caught fire yet," Carl drawled, strutting into my personal space with a smirk that made my blood boil.

"MOVE IT, Carl!" I snapped, my voice coming out sharper and louder than I intended. He was literally blocking the only reason I'd bothered to get out of bed this morning.

Carl just rolled his eyes, his bangles clinking with a rhythmic *chime* as he tapped Alicia on the shoulder. He moved just enough to reveal a girl standing behind him, watching us with a chillingly neutral expression. Of course, Carl had to give his usual sassy, gatekeeper attitude when Alicia asked who she was. I honestly don't know why she's friends with him; he's exhausting, a constant drain of energy who always has something nasty to say.

"What's her name?" I asked, trying to get a read on the stranger while Carl stood there acting like he'd personally hand-picked her for the school's social elite.

"I don't know, maybe you should ask her? Does it look like I'm her personal assistant?" Carl shot back, tossing his hair with a dramatic flare.

*Fake ass-* I started to mutter, the words caught in my throat. I stopped because I saw my best friend, Kendalynn, walking through the doors. She looked slightly disheveled, her bag hanging off one shoulder like she'd just barely made the bell. I've known her since we were in pigtails in kindergarten, and just seeing her familiar face made the room feel a little less suffocating, the walls a little less narrow.

I ignored the new girl for a second and started venting to Kendalynn about how much I hated Carl's attitude, but then the stranger spoke up. Her voice was loud. Confident. Entirely unfazed by the drama of the lobby.

"The name's Molly. I just came from Florida," she said, her eyes scanning us with a cold precision, like she was sizing us up for a fight she already knew she'd win. "What are y'all's names?"

We went around the circle, but the more she talked about her dad being in the army and moving around every couple of years, the more I felt my skin crawl. I was getting a terrible vibe from her-a predatory sort of energy, like she was looking for a vacancy in our group to take over. I just wanted the bell to ring. I wanted to be anywhere but under her gaze.

The shrill, piercing ring of the morning bell finally saved me. I turned and hurried toward Homeroom, the crowd swelling around me. But when I walked through the door of Mrs. Frank's room, my breath caught. Audrianna was already sitting at her desk, her book open, staring into space with a hollow expression.

"How did you get here so fast?" I asked, genuinely confused, my hand still gripping the strap of my bag. "You were standing in the lobby with us the whole time. I didn't even see you pass me."

"I don't know... I guess I'm just a fast walker," she whispered. Her voice was shaky, paper-thin, like she was on the verge of shattering into a million pieces.

I shook my head and sat down in my own seat. I wanted to reach out, to ask her what was wrong, but her energy was too heavy, too dark for me to handle on top of my own internal head-trips. I just pulled out my phone, hid it behind my bag, and let the room fade into a blur of announcements and shuffling papers. I stared at the back of Julian's head from a distance, waiting for a sign-any sign-that he noticed we were matching. That he noticed me at all.