The roof was unlocked.
Vjaret had checked this morning.
He sent me a message—"Roof is open! The universe wants us to eat with a view!"—like he'd discovered something profound instead of just a door that wasn't locked.
I didn't know how to respond to that. So I didn't.
But here I am.
Climbing the stairs to the roof of Role of Nurturing Higher Secondary. Following the sound of someone humming off-key.
The door at the top was propped open with a brick.
Of course it is.
I stepped through.
And stopped.
The view was... ridiculous.
The whole village spread out below. Rice paddies like patchwork. Hills in the distance. River catching the light. People moving like tiny dots through streets I was starting to recognize.
"You're here!"
Vjaret was already sitting at the edge, legs dangling over. Lunch box open beside him. Grinning like he'd been waiting for this moment his whole life.
"You made it."
"You said the roof was open."
"I did!" He patted the space beside him. "Sit. Eat. Enjoy the best view in school."
I walked over. Sat down carefully. The edge was close. Very close. One wrong move and—
Don't think about that.
Just sit.
Eat.
Try to be normal.
I opened my lunch box. Rice. Vegetables. Something sweet that Angy had called "surprise."
Probably not actually a surprise.
Probably just food.
"So." Vjaret bit into something. "First rooftop lunch. How do you feel?"
Terrified. Confused. Wondering why anyone would eat this high up voluntarily.
"Fine."
"Just fine?" He laughed. "Look at this view, Nams! This is amazing! We're above everything! We're kings of the school!"
Kings.
That's one word for it.
I looked at the view again.
It is beautiful.
In a terrifying way.
"Your face is doing that thing again."
"What thing?"
"The scrunchy thing. Like you're solving a really hard problem." He pointed at me with his chopsticks. "What are you thinking about?"
How high up we are. How far the ground is. How one wrong move would end very badly.
"The view," I said.
"It's good, right?"
"...Yeah."
We ate in silence for a bit. He is humming. And I'm trying not to look down.
Then,
"Can I ask you something?"
I glanced at him. "You just did."
He laughed. Actually laughed. "Okay, smart guy. Another something, then."
"Go ahead."
"Where are you from? Really?"
Here it comes.
The question everyone eventually asks.
"Far away."
"Far away where?"
"A place you've never heard of."
He considered this. Nodded slowly. "Okay. Fair."
"That's it?"
"What else should there be?" He shrugged. "You'll tell me when you're ready. Or you won't. Either way, you're still here, eating lunch with me. That's enough."
That's enough.
Just being here is enough.
I didn't know what to say to that.
So I didn't say anything.
But something in my chest felt... warmer.
"Hey, Nams?"
"Hmm?"
"Thanks for coming up here. I know it's weird. Eating on a roof. But I've always wanted someone to share it with."
I looked at him. At his sincere expression. At the way he said it like it was nothing, like it was everything.
"Thanks for inviting me."
He grinned. "Anytime, rooftop buddy. Anytime."
Rooftop buddy.
Is that what we are now?
I think it is.
We ate the rest of our lunch in comfortable silence.
And for the first time since coming to Ilsa—
I guess,
I didn't feel alone.
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