The morning air was crisp, with a hint of autumn just around the corner. Students poured from the buses, marking the return to school. Their breaths were visible in little puffs as they exchanged anxious glances on the first day. Madison's arms were wrapped tightly around her chest as she made her way through the crowd. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, her outfit was carefully crafted for the first day of her senior year. As she rendered the large green doors she spotted Matt and Jordan chatting by the stairs.

"Matt, I like the new cut," she motioned to his fade, with the top gelled to the left. "Have either of you seen Rodney yet?"

Matt smiled, looking up as if he could see his hair. "Thanks, Madison," he replied. "And no, we haven't seen him yet. But if he took the bus you know it is usually late."

Jordan checked his phone, looking over his texts from that morning. "He didn't answer any of my texts this morning either," he tucked the phone away. "Maybe he's sick or something. I mean Rodney would never skip, even the thought of it would have him hyperventilating,"

Madison sighed, conflicted. "You don't think this might have something to do with Ally..." Her voice trailed off as they all collectively looked at the floor, trying to avoid the awkward subject.

The bell reminded them it was time for first period. Reluctantly, the trio dispersed, each off to start the new school year wondering if Rodney was ok.

In French class, Matt slumped into his seat just as Mr. Lamont began attendance. When he called out "Ally Matthews," the silence that followed was telling. A murmur rippled through the classroom, and Matt couldn't help but feel a little more at ease knowing she wasn't there. Pulling out his phone, he fired off a quick text to Madison: *Ally's MIA too. Odd they're both gone first day back.*

Madison's response was blunt, her lingering anger evident even through text: *Don't care. She broke up with Rodney via text. Probably for the best, she's not here.*

Matt's thumbs hovered over the keyboard, contemplating a reply about Ally's choice to break Rodney's heart in a text when the sudden sound of the teacher's voice made him flinch. "Matthew! You know the rules about cellphones in the classroom,"

"Sorry, Mr. Lamont," Matt muttered, as he handed his phone over, leaving him feeling disconnected and uneasy. Mr. Lamont shuffled away to return to the lesson on French ER verbs but Matt couldn't help but stare at the empty desk where Ally should have been and wondered why she also didn't show up today.

The chatter of the lunchroom buzzed like a bee hive as Matt spotted Jordan, Madison and Steven sitting at their usual corner table. Madison was in mid-rant about her Calculus teacher's impossible expectations for the year when Matt took his seat next to Steven.

"Mind if I join?" Derek stood next to the table, surprising everyone.

"Derek? What are you doing here?" Steven asked, eyebrows raised. "Jordan said you chose to go to UWaterloo for engineering."

Derek chuckled, taking a seat next to Luke. "I just differed the offer," he said, brushing his sandy hair from his eyes. "Waterloo can wait a year. Besides I plan on using this year to really save some cash up."

"Smart move, man," Luke nodded as he carefully poured a hot chocolate into his cereal.

"Uh, thanks" Derek watched as Luke began to sip his new creation. "Did Rodney get a different lunch period this year?" Derek asked, looking over their faces.

Madison shook her head. "No, he's supposed to be in my English class. He's just not here today."

"My money is on, he's sick," offered Jordan as he poked the straw into his juice box.

"That must be it," Derek replied, unwrapping his burrito. "No way he would miss the first day of school for any other reason,"

"Let's hope he feels better tomorrow," said Matt, "I feel like he hasn't vented about the breakup yet, he needs bro time,"

"Bro time?" Madison raised her eyebrow.

"Yeah when guys get together after a breakup and game," Luke stated as if it were common knowledge.

"And you talk about it during this?" Madison crossed her arms.

"No the act of gaming is the healing," Luke raised his hot chocolate cereal as if toasting her before downing it.

"I need to find myself some more girlfriends," Madison huffed.

As the conversation carried on, Derek laughed along with everybody else as Luke tried to explain the intense healing power of Call of Duty Zombies, but deep down he was worried there was more to Rodney's absence

---

The next morning, Derek stood cracked cement steps of Rodney's house, knocking out a tune on the door. It swung open to reveal Mrs. Thompson, whose face changed from annoyed to ecstatic when she laid eyes on him.

"Derek, I thought you were already on campus," she stepped aside, waving him into the narrow entranceway. "Come in, come in,"

"Oh yeah, I decided to take a year to earn a little more for tuition," Derek gave her a reassuring smile. "You know, I don't want too much debt. Is Rodney here?"

"Oh, that is very smart. I wish my kids would think ahead like that," she sighed, returning to unloading the dishwasher. "I think Rodney is in his room, he's really dragging his feet this morning,"

"Don't worry, I'' drive him today," Derek smiled at her, turned on his heel and marched down the hallway to Rodney's room. He found Rodney hunched over his desk, staring down a several different pens.

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"Hey, Rodney," Derek said softly, leaning against the doorway. "Whatcha doing there?"

"I'm trying to choose the perfect pen, I am sure I'll have to take a ton of notes and I need one that won't smudge," Rodney muttered without looking up.

"Right... well if you don't get moving, we are going to be late," Derek ventured, inching closer.

Rodney finally glanced up, his eyes rimmed with red. "But I need a pen,"

"This isn't really about a pen is it?" Derek said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Look what Ally did was harsh, but there is no reason you should feel embarrassed about it. She's the one that has the explaining to do, and besides everyone missed you yesterday,"

"Wait, really?" Rodney's posture straightened slightly.

"Really," confirmed Derek. "Madison wants to talk to you about your weird new English teacher, Jordan is stressing over the homecoming dance and Luke... well there is no real help for Luke. The point is we need you back, school just isn't the same without you."

Rodney looked at Derek, the silent battle within him playing across his face. After a long moment, he snatched a pen from his desk and slipped into his checkered backpack.

"Okay, let's go then," Rodney said, a half smile spreading across his face.

"Awesome," Derek clapped him on the shoulder, feeling the slight tension ease between them. "Let's hit it."

Derek's car pulled up to the front of SDCI, and Rodney hesitated for a moment before opening the door. His hand trembled lightly as he stepped out, his eyes scanning the school grounds for any sign of Ally. He tried to keep his head low, drawing as little attention to himself as possible.

"Hey, look who's here!" Madison's voice carried across the parking lot as she waved from the school entrance, she was standing with Matt and Jordan.

"Rodney!" Matt chimed in, while Jordan approached with a broad, welcoming smile.

"Good to see you," Jordan said, giving him a small hug, which Rodney returned.

"Are you... doing okay?" Madison asked, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear. She searched Rodney's dark eyes for any signs he was still upset about his failed relationship.

"Fine," Rodney replied, the word doing a lot of heavy lifting. Each of his friends shared a look ranging from to 'I think he's good' to 'Oh no'.

"Well, Ally's not here again today so that's a plus. You don't have to keep looking over your shoulder," Matt mentioned casually but seemed a little more stressed out just by mention of her.

Madison's lips pressed into a thin line as she thought about Ally. "I am so sorry about what she did to you, I mean she didn't even tell you why she was doing it. Just 'I don't think this is going to work out,' and then nothing, like who the hell does that!"

"Madison..." Rodney trailed off, realizing just how much his friends cared. "I'll be ok, I just want to have a normal day,"

"Right then let's get this day started by not being late to class," Derek suggested, putting his arm around Rodney and leading him into the school.

---

The final bell rang, and the hallways of SDCI emptied as students funnelled out of the orange-bricked building. Rodney stayed back with Jordan so he could see him in action at the first student council meeting of the year. They made their way to the student council room where new posters and a list of events for the month were plastered to the walls. The other council members greeted them, and the meeting was pretty standard until the end. Hunter made his way over and sat next to Rodney.

"Rodney," Hunter began, leaning closer than Rodney was expecting. "Must've been a killer summer for you to go MIA on me. What'd you get up to?"

"Nothing much," Rodney muttered, his gaze fixed on a point just past Hunter's shoulder. He felt bad about ignoring Hunter over the summer, but with everything with Ally going wrong, it felt weird to talk to him.

Hunter, watched as Rodeny struggled to figure out what to say, slightly amused by it. "Dude don't stress about it, we all get a little carried away over the summer,"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry. Some personal stuff happened and I just... well You know?" Rodney stammered leaning away from Hunter.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to spell that one out for me," A confused look crossed Hunter's face.

Rodney looked down at his phone on the desk, "Oh sorry, I actually have to go but we should catch up later," He threw his bag over his shoulder and stuffed his phone into his pocket before racing out the door.

Hunter watched him go before turning to Jordan, "Is Rodney alright? He seems more jumpy and weird than usual," Hunter whispered, his brows furrowing in concern. "Did I say something wrong?"

Jordan exhaled deeply, glancing back at the door Rodney had just fled through. "It's a long story. It's about Ally..."

"Ally?" Hunter's expression shifted—a mix of sympathy and a dawning realization. "Did they break up over the summer? No wonder he was being so weird. But this could be a good thing."

"A good thing?" Jordan raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind," Hunter said quickly, a flush creeping up his neck as he realized what he had said out loud. "I was thinking about something else. I should go talk to him though maybe after fencing practice later,"

"Right, I'm going to assume this is a conversation you are having with yourself, not me," Jordan muttered, knowing full well Hunter was no longer paying attention to them.

---

The next morning, Madison's hand fell on Rodney's shoulder as he sat on the bench in the school garden, The one place he could always go to think, he looked over at the sunflowers trying to avoid the conversation.

"Hey," she said gently. "How are you holding up?"

Rodney managed a shrug, his voice tight. "I'm fine, Mads. Really, you don't need to worry about me. I know it is going to hurt when I see Ally again but I'll survive,"

Jordan and Matt approached, overhearing Rodney as they got closer. Jordan cleared their throat, shifting their weight from foot to foot.

"Actually, about that," Jordan started, "Steven texted Ally last night, he was a little worried about her. Anyway, Ally's not going to be at SDCI anymore. She transferred to Holy Cross over the summer."

A flicker of relief passed over Rodney's features, quickly chased away by a scowl. "So, wait a minute, that's it? She dumps me and ghosts me and then just leaves? What did I do that was so terrible she literally had to transfer schools to get away from me?"

"Well, we don't know for sure she transferred schools because of you," Matt sat next to Rodney on the bench. "There are lots of other reasons people transfer," he offered.

"What other reason could there be?" The word came out sharper than Rodney intended. He sighed, passing a hand through his curly hair. "I'm sorry, It's just so frustrating. This is just like Ally, avoiding the problem so she doesn't have to fix it. I think I just need some time alone to come down from this," Rodney tried not to cry in front of them.

"Alright, man," Matt conceded with a nod. "Whatever you need."

With a collective murmur of goodbyes, they wandered away from the bench, leaving Rodney alone with his thoughts in the garden.

Madison lingered just on the other side of the wall, her thumb swiping idly on her phone screen until something caught her eye. A post on Instagram showed Ally's smiling face with a caption about auditioning for the county playhouse's 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'. A conniving sparkle ignited in Madison's blue eyes.

"Guys," she called out, stopping Matt and Jordan in their tracks. "Look at this, can you believe it? She's just going around like she didn't just break Rodney's heart,"

"Yeah, but it's not like we can really do anything about that," Jordan frowned, hesitant. "I mean she goes to a different school now, we just have to move on. We just have to make sure we are all there for Rodney when he needs it."

"Or we could do something about it," Matt chimed in, reading through Ally's post. "I mean she really hurt Rodney. So what if we ruined her audition, just as a little payback for what she did."

"I don't know, that kind of sounds like the old Matt talking," Jordan gave Matt a worried look, Their tone serious. "What if sabotaging Ally just makes Rodney feel worse?"

Madison considered this for a moment, her finger hovering over her phone, the digital image of Ally frozen on her screen. "Ok, so we run the idea by Rodney first. That way we'll know what he wants. Sound good?"

Jordan nodded slowly, hoping Rodney would decline, that they could all simply move on and leave the drama with Ally where it belonged—in the past.