It was lunch on Friday, and Evelyn was wearing her Elmwood High Wolves shirt. The other cheerleaders sat around her, and she listened to their conversation. Eating lunch didn’t interest her. She needed to eat something, but her stomach was full of nerves. What with the football game tonight, CCNC tomorrow morning, and the dance later that night, she could hardly muscle down water.

The conversation among the cheerleaders came to an abrupt halt, and Evelyn felt herself come out of her reverie to notice two boys standing to the side of the table, looking right at her. Evelyn had never seen them before. She placed her water bottle on the table. They had frozen, awed looks on their faces.

“Hello,” Evelyn said. Neither one of them said anything. She frowned, watching them. They stared like they ran into a famous person. “Can I help you?”

This prompt seemed to jolt one of the boys, but the other still stared at her.

“So… we heard you like Choice, Chance, and Consequence.”

Behind her, the other cheerleaders snickered. To give her something to do, she grabbed her water bottle. “Um, yeah. It’s… a great game.” There was no point lying. This did not help the star-struck look the two boys had. An unease settled into her. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Do you want to join our campaign?” the boy whispered, still in awe.

The unease compounded, and it didn’t help that the other cheerleaders kept snickering. She both commended the boy for his bravery and felt bad that she had to be the bearer of bad news. “I’m sorry, but I’m currently swamped as it is. With school and such.”

“And your own campaign?” the boy asked.

“Yeah. It’s been going for a while.”

Once again, the boy fell silent as they stood there. Evelyn didn’t want to give them false hope, so she didn’t suggest the possibility of a next time. Perhaps it was rude, but she couldn’t see herself doing anything else with CCNC while her character was in the real world.

“Alright. Cool,” the boy said after an uncomfortably long silence. The other boy behind him kept staring at Evelyn. He hadn’t blinked since he arrived.

“I’ll see you around,” Evelyn said.

“Okay.” The boy whispered it, sounding like she promised the best thing to ever happen to him.

Evelyn was again afraid the boys would stand there for the rest of the lunch hour. She didn’t want to hurt their feelings, but she wasn’t sure how to ask them to leave without sounding rude.

“Ugh, tell your new boyfriends to leave, Evelyn,” Jennifer said.

She wished Hazel had her same lunch. Hazel always said the right thing. Clarissa did, too. “I’ll see you later,” Evelyn said.

“Yeah.” The boy stared wide eyed as he slowly backed away. “See you… later.”

The other silent boy remained, staring unblinkingly at Evelyn. The other boy disappeared into the crowd by this point, leaving his friend. Evelyn waved at the silent boy, who finally reacted by waving back. She then made a shooing motion, which made her feel bad, but she didn’t know how else to talk to him. He finally got the hint and backed away, his wide eyes still on Evelyn.

Evelyn turned back, seeing Jennifer and Rebecka looking entertained by the entire thing.

“Looks like someone’s getting a whole sock drawer dedicated to them,” Jennifer said.

Evelyn frowned. “Come on, Jen. There’s no need to be crude.”

Jennifer scoffed. “Tell that to them. They’re the one with the socks.”

“Not all game nerds are like that.” Evelyn tried to take another drink, but her stomach knots got even worse.

Jennifer shrugged and picked up her tray. “Best not to risk it.”

Evelyn didn’t watch her go, but she did feel empty inside. Rebecka left, too, as did a few more cheerleaders. She hated how Jennifer was so quick to assume the worst in boys. But even as she thought about it, Evelyn’s eyes traveled to a different table where Rafael chatted with his football friends. She averted her eyes and grabbed her water bottle. Her stomach was in too many knots as she tried to muscle down some more water. She made a mental note to eat something before the game tonight.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

***

Derek was listening to some music while reading through the script. His phone went off, mostly from all his drama friends as they discussed the cast list. Derek got the part of Wadsworth, which he was trying really hard not to be nervous about. It was a huge part, one he should feel lucky about getting. What with everything else happening right now, he wasn’t sure he was ready.

There was a knock on the door, and Miguel was there at the doorway. “Hey, son.”

Derek popped out his ear buds. “Hey, Dad!” Derek got up to hug him. Miguel had a lot of weekends free now, so Derek didn’t feel nearly as guilty about being busy tomorrow with CCNC.

“I heard you got Wadsworth!” Miguel said.

“Yeah.” All the emotion and unease came across in that one word.

Miguel gave him a side hug. “Oh, stop. You’re going to knock it out of the park. As usual.”

“Thanks, dad.”

“Hey, your mom and I wanted to talk to you before we talk to your siblings.”

Despite the light tone in his dad’s voice, a deep sense of dread squeezed Derek’s torso. His mother was outside in the hall, trying to smile. He froze in place. “What’s going on?”

Miguel chuckled. “Derek, come on. We’ve been trying to keep this light so you don’t leap to the wrong conclusion. Everything is fine. I promise.”

The unease worsened in his gut at his promise. He tried not to get nervous, but he was going there. Fast. They did this all the time. Gave him the uncomfortable news first so he could have whatever panic attack privately in his room instead of in front of his siblings.

He waved his hand in a circular motion. “Just give it to me. Quick. I’m jumping to some terrifying conclusions and they’re each worse than the last.” He looked at Amanda. “Abuela’s still alive, right?”

“My mother is fine.” Amanda placed her hands on his shoulders. “Your father is considering a different job. That’s all. He doesn’t even have one yet. He’s just considering it.”

Derek let out a breath, holding his knees. “Good. Okay. I can work with that.” He then thought of the implications. “Can I work with that?”

“It’s in Phoenix,” Miguel said.

Derek paused, letting this sink in. Phoenix was almost two hours away. “Are we… moving?”

It was the glance between his parents that made the unease smack him all over again. Now it wasn’t the unknown. It was solid ground. A million thoughts swirled through his mind in less than a second. He couldn’t move to the city. He got a part in the play. Elmwood has been home for years. He wasn’t ready to live in a big city, let alone the capital of Arizona.

Milo.

Derek’s eyes shot straight through his parents to where Milo sat in the kitchen, mixing some gold mana.

“We’re not moving,” Miguel said.

“We wouldn’t do that to your senior year.” Amanda reached around and placed a hand around Miguel’s waist. “In fact, we’re still considering the job, whether this would be a good fit.”

Derek let out another breath. “But you’ve been thinking about it long enough that you’re talking to me about it?”

Miguel sighed. “There’s too much travel in my job right now. Izzy’s gone off to college. You’re about ready to leave. I’ve missed you both. I’m seriously considering it. But if I do, we’re not planning on moving until you’re done with school. Buying and selling a house is hard to predict, but we’re hoping by this summer to have this house sold and settled in Pheonix. By that time, you’ll have finished your senior year.”

Derek stared at his parents. Miguel had already decided. That much was clear. It wasn’t official, but Derek might as well consider it. There were so many emotions. Happy that he’d stay until his senior year. Reeling that his life was getting uprooted.

It was going to be uprooted, anyway. He was going to college next year. But if there was no reason to come back to Elmwood, would he ever be back? What about all his high school friends? Was this it? A taste of growing up?

“I know it’s a lot, but it’s still uncertain,” Amanda said. Which Derek knew was a total lie. Miguel was taking the job. They were moving. “So don’t tell anyone yet. It might not happen.”

Derek nodded, his mind still reeling. His application was ready to go in January to ASU. He had it all planned out. He even talked with Tyler about rooming with him. Elmwood wouldn’t be his home forever. It was never about that. And yet…

Yet it was nice to think his parents wouldn’t be that far. That he’d still come back to Elmwood to visit. Tyler left for college two years ago, but it never felt like he’d gone away. He wanted the same.

True, it wasn’t like his parents were moving across the country, but still. Elmwood. He remembered when they first moved here. There were a few of his family members here, but not nearly as many as where they were in Florida. And yet somehow Arizona became home far quicker to him than in Florida.

Derek again looked past his parents to see Milo working. Milo couldn’t leave the bubble. Not at his current level. He fully believed his mana fusor would gain a higher level before summer, but then again, how long would Milo be here?. That, too, brought its own sort of finality to it.

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Miguel said. “Change is never easy, but we are trying to make the most of it.”

“Yeah.” Derek felt like he was falling backwards into a black pit. “Yeah.”

Miguel wrapped Derek in a hug. “I want to see you more, kid. Before you go to college.”

“Yeah.” He was stuck on that word. He couldn’t think of another.

“We’re here for you, Derek,” Amanda said.

“Yeah.” It was numb. His parents were concerned, but he felt himself spiraling. They didn’t want him back in his room alone, so they spent an hour with him to make sure he was alright. Asking him about CCNC. He tried not to think about what this could mean. He wasn’t even sure himself. His eyes always wandered over toward where Milo sat. Kept thinking about how many things could be worse, but he didn’t like where things were going, either.

It wouldn’t be until summer. He had to take this one day at a time. That’s all he could do.