In the Absence of Light

6

YAY!!! We did it! We made it to 1k 😭 You guys are incredible. Thank you so much ❤️

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Ivys POV

I swirl the pasta around my fork, scooping up as many spaghetti strands as I can. I haven't had a dinner this good in a while. A knack for cooking runs in the family, but I wasn't blessed with that gene. My dinners usually consist of grilled cheese sandwiches, ramen, or sushi delivered by UberEats.

This is a nice change.

We're sitting outside at the only Italian restaurant in the area. There are a couple of pizza joints around, but nothing like this. It's tucked away in the back corner of the main courtyard on campus. It feels almost like a town square. There's a round patch of grass in the centre, with a water fountain in the middle. The path around it opens up to a bunch of stores, but mostly cafés and bars. They spill out into the courtyard, letting people from different places sit together.

It's basically just an outdoor food court.

It's well-lit—still dark, but bearable. I've never been to any of the bars, though. They're too dark inside. I do go to the cafes sometimes. They're great to study at when the library is too busy.

Right now, we're sitting outside, just beside the lawn and beneath a large tree. It's relatively quiet on this side of the courtyard. Most people are on the other end, where the bars are.

Trey is amongst them. So is Ryan. Isaac, too.

They're hanging around with a bunch of the frat boys. I recognise them all. I could probably even name them.

I can't tear my eyes away. It's like I'm watching The Lion King. Trey, Isaac, and Ryan are the real-life version of those hyenas. They're cruel and conniving. They walk around campus, taking up too much space and laughing too loudly.

That's what they're doing right now, too. Each of them has a drink in their hand, one laughing harder than the other. Every now and then, they look my way.

They're well aware I'm here.

"What do you think, Ives?" Erin asks from across the table. I glance up at her. "What has a bigger impact on your mental health: your genetics or the environment you grew up in?"

"Uh, I don't know," I respond. "Don't they both influence you?"

"Yeah, but which do you think is more important in psychology?"

"Like... in a therapy session?" I ask. "Then it's definitely your environment. Therapists ask more about how you grew up than about your genetics."

"Is that a bad thing or a good thing?"

"Probably a good thing. I mean, your genetics do impact you, and I know some mental illnesses can be passed down through generations, but I think it's things like trauma and stress that can trigger them."