Well… good morning to me. Because apparently Anna—who always says she never leaves without telling me—is gone. Just like that. No warning, no dramatic goodbye, nothing. Which means we'll probably see her next term , as if she didn't just disappear overnight. Typical. I rolled onto my side, staring at Leah across the room, already buried in one of her books like the world outside didn't exist. Of course, she was reading The Family Business. Again. That girl could reread the same drama ten times and still act surprised at the ending. So yeah… no Anna, no available Leah. Which means I had to figure out this day on my own. Great. I got up, pulling on my usual dark blue sport pants, not really in the mood for anything specific. The school compound was quiet in that boring way it always was in the morning after something big. Like the place itself needed time to recover from the noise. There was nothing interesting going on, nothing pulling me in any direction. So I figured… chapel. At least from there I could watch the city wake up, pretend I had something deep to think about. I stepped outside, the morning air hitting just right—not too cold, not too warm, just enough to wake you up whether you liked it or not. I was halfway across the courtyard when I saw him. Rafael. Standing there like he hadn't slept. Of course. I stopped for a second, watching him before he noticed me. His posture was off. Subtle, but off. And I knew that look. I had seen it before. Every time something—or someone—got into his head. I walked up anyway. "Eyoo, Raf," I called out. He turned slightly. "Hey," he replied, his voice low, flat. Yeah… definitely not in the mood. "What's up with you? Why do you sound like that?" I asked, tilting my head just enough to study him. He looked at me, gave me that small, useless smile people use when they don't feel like explaining anything. That alone told me everything I needed. So I crossed my arms and let out a short breath. "Oh wait… you're wearing your sport shoes. So you were up early doing workouts." I paused, watching his reaction carefully. "Which means… you met Anna on her way out." His jaw shifted just slightly. There it was. "Hmm," I continued, pretending to think. "Don't tell me she ignored you and now you're out here looking like a damaged tomato." "Can you please stop, Ivy?" he snapped, sharper this time. "This isn't funny." I almost smiled. Almost. But I kept it together. "Look," I said, my tone dropping just a little, more serious now. "Her mom wanted her to go back to France. It's Easter soon. Her whole family's there. Her mom came to pick her up herself." He frowned, like that wasn't enough for him. Like it didn't explain what he actually wanted to understand. "But why didn't she tell me?" he asked. And that right there… that was the problem. I let out a quiet laugh, shaking my head. "So you could do what?" I shot back. "Tell her mom to leave her alone? Or go with her to France?" He didn't answer. Of course he didn't. "Why are you being mean?" he muttered. I looked at him for a second, really looked this time. "I'm not being mean," I said calmly. "I'm being honest. And I'm helping you think straight—for once." The silence stretched between us, not heavy, just… real. Then I stepped back, already done with the conversation. "Bye," I added simply. He nodded, still standing there like he hadn't moved at all since I got there. And I didn't wait. I turned and continued toward the chapel, hands in my pockets, my steps steady. But even as I walked away, one thought stayed clear in my mind. This wasn't just one of his moods. And whatever it was… it had a name.
Last night was fun. I can't even lie about that. Everybody was dancing like it were the last night they'd ever get to move like that again, like nothing else existed outside that room. The music was loud, bodies were closer than usual, and for once, nobody cared who was watching. But me? I was watching everything. Every little detail. Every look, every shift, every moment that didn't match the surface. Because that's what I do. And what I saw… yeah, that wasn't just a normal party. I saw Anna the second she walked in. You could miss a lot in that room, but not that. Not her. And I saw it—that tiny shift in her face when she looked at Mary and Rafael. Mary wrapped herself around him, laughing, and held onto him as if she had every right to be there. And the way he held her back? Close. Too close. Kind of close that says something without saying a thing at all. And Anna saw it. I know she did. Because right after that, she changed. Fast. Like a switch flipped inside her. One second she looked like she didn't belong there, and the next? She was on Elliot. And when I say on him… I mean on him. Moving as if she didn't care, like she had something to prove, like the entire room could watch and she wouldn't even blink. You should have seen Rafael's face. I swear, his jaw tightened so hard I thought he might actually hurt himself. That boy was clenching like he was trying to control something that was already slipping out of his hands. And the funny thing? Nobody else really caught it. They were too busy dancing, shouting, living in the moment. But me? I saw all of it. Every single piece. You're probably wondering who I was dancing with, right? Yeah… no one. I was too busy observing. I didn't want to miss anything. No scandal, no tension, no silent war happening right in front of us. I wanted to see it all unfold without being part of it. And trust me, there was a lot to see. Angie? Oh, don't even get me started. That girl was throwing daggers with her eyes straight at Anna the whole time. Not even trying to hide it. If looks could actually hurt, Anna would've been on the floor. But the thing is… Anna didn't care. Not about Angie. Not about the whispers. Not about the way people were noticing something was off. She just kept dancing like none of us existed. And that's the part that confused me the most. Because Anna hates Elliot. Like… actually hates him. Or at least, that's what she always says. So how did she let him hold her like that? How did she let herself move like that with him, like they were in some nightclub instead of a school canteen full of people who talk too much? It didn't make sense. Not on the surface. But underneath? Yeah… it made a little too much sense. And if I'm being honest… there are times I wish one of them would look at me like that too. Like I was the only person in the room. Like nothing else mattered, losing control just because of me. It sounds crazy, but it's real. I just don't say it out loud. Because wanting something like that comes with a price. And I've seen enough to know how that story usually ends. Anna knows it too. That's why she's always so careful, always acting like she doesn't feel anything deeper than she allows herself to show. And maybe that's exactly what's holding her back. Or maybe… it's the only thing protecting her from getting hurt more than she already is.
By the time I reached the chapel, the city was already waking up, stretching itself slowly into a peaceful day. From up there, everything looked simple, calm, almost unreal. The rooftops caught the early light like nothing complicated had ever happened beneath them, like people didn't carry things they refused to say out loud. I sat on the cold bench near the entrance, my elbows resting on my knees, my eyes fixed ahead—but I wasn't really seeing the city. Last night kept replaying too clearly in my head to mean nothing. It wasn't even the entire night, just moments. The kind that doesn't look important when they happen, but somehow stay longer than everything else. Anna lingered in the doorway for a moment too long. The way Rafael didn't turn immediately, but you could tell he felt it anyway. The way everything kept moving—music, people, laughter—while something else, something quieter, shifted underneath it all. I let out a slow breath, my fingers pressing together as if I could physically hold my thoughts in place. "This isn't small," I whispered to myself. Because it wasn't. Not the way Rafael looked this morning—restless, distracted, like something unfinished was still pulling at him. Not the way Anna danced, like she was proving something she didn't want to admit, moving like she didn't care when it was obvious she cared too much. And definitely not the way Mary stood there, smiling, trusting, completely unaware that something had already changed around her. And that was the problem. It had already started. I leaned back slightly, lifting my gaze toward the top windows where the light was breaking through, thin and pale at first, then stronger with every second. For a moment, I thought about how easy it would be to ignore it, to let it stay what it looked like on the surface—a normal night, a birthday, people dancing, nothing deeper than that. It wasn't my story, not my mess. People make their choices, and they live with them. Simple. But nothing about it felt simple. I sighed quietly, rubbing my hands together for warmth more than anything else. The chapel felt colder than outside, or maybe it was just the stillness pressing in. No noise, no distractions, just space to think—and that was exactly what I didn't need. Then Mary crossed my mind again. We're not even that close, not really. We talk, we laugh sometimes, we share space like everyone else does. But still… she's someone you worry about, whether you admit it or not. She didn't deserve to be the last one to know anything. Nobody does. And Anna… she's my best friend. Not in that loud, obvious way people show it, but in the quiet, steady kind. The kind that doesn't need constant proving. All I've ever wanted for her is to be happy. Real happy. Not the kind she pretends to feel when she brushes things off like they don't touch her. But if I'm being honest… Rafael should have chosen her. She was there first. She always was. I shook my head slightly, a small breath slipping out of me as I leaned forward again. Sometimes I think life is funny in the worst way. We all walk around pretending we're fine, like we've got everything under control, acting cool, acting unbothered, acting happy… while inside, everything feels like it's quietly falling apart in pieces we don't even understand yet. And somehow, in the middle of all that, we still find the time to look at someone else's situation and call it messy, like ours isn't worse. It's almost ridiculous. For a moment, I just sat there, letting that thought settle, letting the quiet wrap around me again. The city outside was louder now, more alive, but it still looked distant from where I was sitting, like a picture I wasn't part of. I exhaled slowly and pushed myself up from the bench, brushing my hands against my pants. "Yeah… enough of that," I muttered under my breath, more to myself than anything else. Because at the end of the day, overthinking never fixes a thing. It just makes things heavier than they already are. And right now, I didn't feel like carrying anything heavy. I stepped out of the chapel without looking back, letting the morning air hit my face again, a little warmer this time. I just needed something simple, something easy. A distraction. Maybe a game. Something that didn't require thinking this much.