A week passed. The reality of the situation sank in slow throughout that time. Despite all probing, I managed to dodge all questions about my low mood. Fox distracting me through it which helped to settle the worst of it. As the weekend rolled around, I was in a significantly better mood.

As I slipped out of bed, stumbling out into the hallway, I heard a voice I hadn’t expected coming from the kitchen, “If you need any help, let me know!”

“It’s quite alright! You can just hang out in the living room until Cinder wakes up.”

I slid back behind my door, awake now that Abigail was here. She’d been hovering over me all week. Part in concern, part in her need to know. I ran a hand down my face, rubbing away the sleep. Even stowed away in my room, I could still hear them talking.

“Did Cinder ever say what was wrong?”

“No, she’s kept to herself. She’s been in a better mood the last few days, though.”

Whatever Abigail said next was muffled as she turned on the tv. I stayed with my back against the door. The ambiance of the noise outside was equally daunting as it was calming.

With a deep breath, I headed back out to go through my morning routine. The distraction helped, and by the time I walked out to the living room I was ready for the interrogation Abigail was about to launch.

She sat cross legged on the couch, morning cartoons on the tv. Mom was behind the kitchen counter and she gave me a smile, “Good morning, sleepy head. Your hair is still a mess.”

“Ah, I’ll deal with it later.” I ducked away from her hand as she reached out and turned towards Abigail, “Morning. I wasn’t expecting you to come by today.”

“I just felt like hanging out. There’s nothing to do at my place.” It was a half-lie. I said nothing as I grabbed a plate of waffles. The one good thing about Abigail coming over was my parents were always willing to cook, and they’re food was better than mine could ever be.

I slipped into place next to her, squinting at the screen, “You haven’t turned this channel on since you were twelve.”

“Don’t you still watch these kinds of things?” She grinned. I knew what she was doing. If I let my guard down, she thought she could get me to open up.

Abigail was strange like that. There were times she’d let things drop without care, but once in a blue moon, she’d become obsessed with knowing something. Nia would get the brunt of it, because I was an open book. I wanted to be an open book.

I took a bite of my waffle, “…Sometimes.”

Her smile dimmed. I kept eating. The guilt in my gut kept twisting away. How many lies would it take before I didn’t feel anything anymore? The silence that snuck in was heavy on me.

“So, uh, what did you want to do today?” My own olive branch.

She shrugged, “There isn’t much to do. We should go out. It’s a nice day at least. I was thinking of catching a friend, too”

“Yeah, we could.” I didn’t want to leave the safety of my house, but I’d spent the week locked away in my room after school. I especially didn’t want to feel like a third wheel with Abigail and her friend. But it’d be nice to get out. Maybe it would finally ease away the last of my lingering hurt.

Her head fell against my shoulder, the scent of strawberry shampoo ghosting past me, “Do you want to go to the bookstore? I want to grab something real quick.”

“I’m fine with whatever.”

I finished eating quickly, and kissed my mom’s cheek goodbye as we headed out. The day was warm, a few puffs of cloud lounging in the sky. Abigail was quiet, and I was fishing for words to say as we walked. She wasn’t the one to be quiet between us. I realized just how much I’d been bothering her.

As I was mulling over words, I caught a form walking down the sidewalk across from us. My steps stuttered, too surprised to control my movements. I snapped my eyes forward and tried to pretend I’d tripped on something.

Abigail’s eyes narrowed, “Who’s that?”

“I don’t know…?” I glanced over, praying it seemed natural. Kade was collecting the mail, hair a mess like he’d just woken up. He didn’t notice us, and even if he did it wouldn’t have mattered.

She leaned over, hands cupping around her mouth and the floor opened up beneath me. I refrained from any protest as she called out, “Hey! Do you go to Aster Academy?”

My ears were burning. I immediately looked away, hoping to blend into the background. There was a beat before he called back, “Yeah?”

“Sorry! Just wondering because you looked familiar.” That was a full-lie. She spun around and pushed me forward. Despite myself, I peeked over from under my bangs. I knew what I’d find. It didn’t sting any less.

There wasn’t a hint of recognition in his face.

//

“How…do you do such embarrassing things?” I leaned against one of the many shelves at the bookstore. I still couldn’t get over how easily Abigail had called out to him.

She paused in her browsing, shifting the collection of books already in her arms, “What do you mean? I wasn’t embarrassed in the first place.”

“…Right.” I sighed, any progress I’d made in feeling better had been swept away. Kade’s blank expression was front and center in my mind. I still didn’t know what had happened to Wells. If he wasn’t in drama class, maybe he’d never left soccer in the first place. Maybe Kade had never hurt him. The last thought was wishful thinking, but it was a wish I wanted to have.

As she turned back to browsing, she said, “I thought you knew him.”

“…How could I? I only ever talk to you and Nia.”

She hummed, plucking another book for her pile. Satisfied, she turned back to me and rested against the shelf, “I’ve been super annoying, right?”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“W-what? No—”

“You’re as sweet as ever, but I know I have been. The entire week has been me pestering you to answer me about whatever is going on. I know I should just leave it alone until you’re comfortable with telling me.”

Her lips pressed together, and I prompted, “But…?”

“It’s just how sudden it is. Everything was fine just a week ago.” Summer was a lifetime ago for me. I couldn’t even recall what the last week of summer vacation had been like.

“Yeah, it was pretty sudden, wasn’t it?” I swallowed, lifting my head to look at her directly. We examined each other as I steadied myself, “As my best friend, I want you to know I’d tell you everything if I could.”

“I know.”

“If I ever get the chance to tell you, I will. I promise.” I stuck out my pinky and her eyebrows raised.

As she held out her free hand and hooked her pinky with mine, she breathed, “You’re such a kid.”

“Well, you know, you’re supposed to cut off your pinky if you break a pinky promise.” She rolled her eyes and we let go. I knew it wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it was the best I could do.

We went to the counter to check out. It was barely afternoon now, and we had all the time in the world to kill. Now that Abigail had completed her goal as best she could, I figured it was time to meet up with this supposed friend.

After she paid, she headed towards the back of the store again, “Come on, there’s a little reading nook back here.”

“Is there?” I followed after her. The store itself wasn’t too big, an indie bookstore tucked away in one of the many storefronts that lined the street. In the back, there was a collection of bean bags and tables scattered around in no order.

She collapsed on one of the bean bags and I settled in next to her, “It’s cozy.”

“Yeah, one of my friends from the Literature Club told me about it.”

I went still, “Oh, really? Is she the one we’re going to meet?”

“Yeah, she comes here all the time. She kinda reminds me of you. Always quiet and keeping to herself.” She riffled through her bag for a specific book. “You know, I’m always surprised you’re in drama instead of something else.”

My parents had wanted me to gain confidence so they’d signed me up as a kid. Even back then, I was never fond of being on stage, but I’d grown to appreciate the art and I stuck around.

“I guess I do seem more like a bookworm.” I hesitated. “What is that club like? It feels like it’d be…”

“Stuffy? Rigid? Ultra-boring?” She laughed at my protests, finally pulling out a book from her newfound collection. I eyed it, noting it was another dream interpretation book. I knew where this was going. She hadn’t completely let this go.

I decided it was easier to go with it, “Well, remember when I told you I had that bad dream?”

Her eyes glinted and she settled in with the book as I gave a run down of everything. For the first tale, I hadn’t gotten far enough to understand how that dream had connected to reality. But this one, I could already see pieces of the puzzle aligning.

“It makes sense I told you to stay away, actually. For a bunch of bookworms, they’re so full of drama. They all pretend to be friends, but they’re always saying shit behind each other’s backs. And for what?” I winced, having all the context I needed already.

“So…I basically just had an accurate dream about them?”

“Pretty much. You’ve always had dreams like that, though.”

I remembered she’d mentioned that before, “Yeah, you’ve said. I always have weird dreams.”

She tilted her head, “Not just weird. Sometimes they feel…almost prophetic.”

“H-huh?” Abigail reached out and mused my hair at my voice. I couldn’t recall her ever saying that. Whenever I tried to remember my dreams, they slipped away by the end of the day. It was why Abigail would say I should keep a dream journal. I couldn’t ever recall them being more than weird.

As I tried to lodge this into my head, Abigail craned her head over me, “Speak of the devil.”

I looked over to see where she was looking and found a girl walking towards us. She hadn’t noticed us yet, or specifically Abigail. Her brown hair was in loose curls and fell past her shoulders. Her clothes were neutral tones and well kept. I knew little about fashion, but I could tell they were brand-named. Me, Abigail, and Kade were the exceptions of Aster Academy. Most who attended had more money we could dream of.

She was texting on a phone, one of the new models with a keyboard instead of the standard flip phone. When she lifted her head, Abigail’s arm shot up and she waved dramatically. I ducked my head.

“Ava, hey!” Her smile was serene. I tried not to stare as Abigail hopped onto her feet and walked towards her.

As Abigail threw her arms out for a hug, I noticed Ava’s gaze flicker towards me briefly, “Afternoon. It’s nice to see you.”

“I told you I might be swinging by.” Abigail pulled away, motioning towards me. “I came with my friend, Cinder. She’s my favorite.”

The hint of Ava’s perfectly shaped eyebrows rising was almost enough to make me forget how to speak, “H-hi. Nice to meet you.”

I hopped to my feet. My own clothes felt wrong now. I never was much for fashion and shopping, and my wardrobe was dominated by the thrift store. Abigail was the same, but unlike me, she was a master at finding things. She didn’t look out of place next to her.

“Yes, nice to meet you.” She offered a hand to shake. The formality felt wrong. The only time I ever shook hands was with adults. I knew my grasp was weak, and I tried to ignore how steady and smooth her hands were. I’d never thought of them before, but my hands were covered in callouses from playing in the woods all the time as a kid. Constantly working with my hands for club had kept them there.

If there was a real reason why I didn’t have friends outside of Abigail and Nia, it was because I never knew how to talk to kids who came from money. Everything they did and talked about was far removed from me. It was the same now.

With introductions out of the way, I left Ava and Abigail to it. The two settled in and went on tangents about people I’ve never heard of. None of the names stood out, and I realized I was waiting to see if a certain name came up. The one I’d spent the whole week avoiding making contact with.

Cyrus had been unremarkable to watch during class. After the first day, I’d pointedly tried to not stare at him or even glance his way. I wasn’t ready to jump into another story, so I was ignoring the obvious invitation.

I still needed to find Wells. Kade had been jarring enough. If I located Wells only to find the same thing, my heart would break for a third time. A sapling of friendship, dying before it became more.

Ava was the second invitation to all of this. Her voice was so soft and steady. Each word she said seemed curated. I didn’t know how Abigail thought the two of us were similar. I kept watching her posture, and it stayed as upright and proper as one could be sunk into a beanbag.

“Meetings for your book club start next week, right?”

“It’s the Literature Club,” the scolding was gentle, “And it does. You should come. I’m President this year.”

“No way, you know I hate their guts right?” Abigail wrinkled her nose. “Also, like, Justin’s a part of your club, and I’m not dealing with that shit.”

I blinked, “J-Justin? As in—”

“Yes, that Justin.” I remembered him. Justin could be the poster boy of a teen magazine, and Abigail had punched him in the face last year after their breakup. She hadn’t broken his nose, but he’d had a nosebleed which had been enough for his mom to have a fit. It hadn’t been on school grounds, and Justin had insisted to leave it alone. Abigail had gotten away scot-free.

I hadn’t been there, but Nia had said it was the best thing she’d seen that night, “I…wouldn’t want to be near him either.”

“A shame, but I understand. If it helps he decided he wasn’t rejoining this year. Well, at least not fully.”

“Ok, so that’s one of the awful people out of there, but what about Lisa? Or better yet, what about your favorite? I heard Cyrus got into a fight day one of school.” Half-expecting it, the name still sent a jolt through me.

Ava tapped her cheek, a faint smile flicking across her face, “Yes, indeed. Him and Everett got into it. They’ve both smoothed it over. Everett is even letting him stay in the club!”

Abigail’s sarcasm was in full force now, “How generous of your Vice President.”

“Really, you should stop by at least once. I think it’d be entertaining for you for the day at least.” Abigail only shook her head again, although the glint in her eye meant she was considering it. As slight as that consideration was.

With my luck, she was going to go. And despite my better judgement, I was going to go with her.