Chapter 3: When did we ..

I wake up the next morning feeling… surprisingly okay. The weight from yesterday still lingers a bit, but it’s lighter now, like I can actually breathe. I go through my usual morning routine—shower, brush teeth, fight with my socks—and head out. The air is crisp and the streets are quiet. It feels like a reset. When I enter the classroom, it's still mostly empty. Just the way I like it. “Morning!” I greet the few early birds scattered across the room. I head to my desk and plop down. “Must’ve really been early today… even John’s not here yet,” I mutter to myself, chuckling a little. More students begin to filter in. I nod or wave at whoever looks my way. It’s calm. Peaceful. And then it hits me. “Wait a second… why is no one mocking me?” I squint suspiciously at the crowd. “Did I fall off the face of the Earth? Or did everyone just develop selective amnesia overnight?” Just as I start to feel hopeful, one of my friends strolls over, smirking. “Yo,” he says, nudging me. “Your girlfriend was worried about you yesterday.” I sigh, hard. “Spoke too soon,” I grumble under my breath. “She’s not my girlfriend,” I reply with an annoyed glare. “It was just… an accident.” He raises his eyebrows like he doesn’t believe a word I said and walks off, leaving me to stew in my thoughts. First period starts—Chemistry. I try to focus on atomic structures and covalent bonds, but my mind keeps drifting. Before long, it’s break. Then lunch. Then, finally, school is over. Now it’s tuition time. I walk to the tuition center with my usual gang, who are being their typical noisy, cocky selves. Everything feels weirdly… normal. But of course, that doesn’t last. “You ready to see your girlfriend?” one of them teases, jabbing me with his elbow. I roll my eyes and ignore him, brushing it off as we reach the center and find our seats. The chatter continues until— She walks in. The room goes silent. My whole squad, who were just laughing like maniacs, suddenly freeze. Their faces shift into identical, smug grins. “Okay… what am I missing?” I think, as She’s scanning the room, looking for a seat—and that’s when the betrayal happens. Yes. They betrayed me. My own friends, my ride-or-die crew, the brothers I’ve suffered with in math class and shared chewing gum with during exams—they shoved me out of our usual spot. Like actual physical betrayal. One grabbed a random guy—some dude I swear they don’t even know—and said, “Hey, bro, come sit here!” What?! I stood there, frozen in disbelief. “Wait—what are you doing? That’s my spot!” They gave me their best fake-innocent faces and shrugged, all wide-eyed like they hadn’t just thrown me to the wolves. And as if fate—or some twisted curse—was playing its hand, the only empty seat left in the entire room... was right next to Ruth. “Demn it,” I mutter under my breath. I shoot my friends a death glare so intense I could’ve vaporized them on the spot. They smile like Shrek in a toothpaste ad—too proud of themselves for this betrayal. Then, of course, the teacher walks in and seals my fate. “Everyone, settle down!” she says sharply, motioning to our seats. “Nooo,” I mentally scream, dragging myself toward the seat beside her like a prisoner being escorted to his cell. I sit down, avoiding eye contact. “Hy,” I mumble, trying to act cool and not like my soul is climbing out of my body. She glances at me with that calm look of hers. “Hey,” she says, casual as ever. Like nothing happened. “Great,” I think. “She’s not being weird about it. That’s... actually a relief.” The class starts, and apart from the seating arrangement from hell, everything is surprisingly normal. We listen. We write. We pretend to understand. And during the little breaks, we even talk. Not awkward small talk either—actual, normal conversation. About class. About how hungry we were. She even laughed at something dumb I said. It was… nice. The storm had passed. Or at least paused. Still, I’ll never forgive those traitors. ---