As instructed, Thomas proceeded to distribute the pamphlets to all of his classmates, minus one student.

“I’m very sorry, Arland,” Ms. Marley said, her expression sympathetic. “We got a call from your parents this morning informing us that your permission for the trip has been revoked. You’ll have to remain on campus next week.”

“Yeah, I know,” Arland replied. The rhythmic sound of cards slapping against each other sped up, contrasting with the carefully constructed neutrality of his tone.

Lee couldn’t understand why Ms. Marley had decided to announce Arland’s exclusion in front of everyone. Wouldn't it have been better to pull Arland aside to tell him privately?

Lee felt the first embers of true irritation on his friend’s behalf spark within him. He clenched his fists and he glared mulishly down at the surface of his desk, unsure of what to do or say.

When Thomas came around to place the pamphlet of information about Silent Valley Park on his desk, Lee had the childish urge to shove it to the floor.

Possibly able to read his mind, Thomas lightly brushed Lee's knuckles with the back of his hand in a reassuring gesture as he passed by, immediately calming him down.

Lee followed the redhead with his eyes, and watched as Thomas leaned in to whisper something to Arland, who responded with a tight-lipped smile and a dismissive wave of his hand. The President silently carried on distributing pamphlets in the next aisle.

Did Thomas also care that Arland was kicked off the trip?

Lee wouldn’t call the two of them particularly close friends; most of their conversations were filled with sarcastic banter and subtle jabs. Still, Lee had personally witnessed a certain level of camaraderie and mutual respect between them, so it was possible.

******

Second period was the prime time to sneak in a conversation.

Their science teacher had a fairly relaxed attitude, and had simply assigned them all a few chapters to read and take notes on. As long as everyone had their books out and at least seemed to be working, the man turned a deaf ear to any talking in the room.

Lee sat sideways in his seat, his textbook resting open on his lap. That way he could appear to be engrossed in his work while he chatted with his friend.

"Did anything happen while you were at home?" Lee asked quietly.

Arland responded with a halfhearted shrug, already setting up his cards for his usual classtime game of solitaire. "I guess something happened, but it wasn't anything serious. You and Tom can stop being such worrywarts about it."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

So Thomas had expressed concern. The fact that Arland’s unusually bitter mood was enough to prompt Thomas into checking on him too, only made Lee worry more.

However, he wasn’t sure how appropriate it was for him to push.

Lee and Arland had never really had deep, emotional conversations. Most of their time spent together consisted of Arland utterly stomping Lee at any and all card games, playful teasing from the blonde, and comfortable silences spent just lounging in each other’s dorm rooms.

It was hard for Lee to gauge just how close of friends they really were.

“Tell me anyway?” Lee requested softly, looking down at his lap while fiddling with the corner of a page in his book.

Arland’s mouth stretched up into a small smirk. “Oh, I just embarrassed my parents in front of a bunch of important guests," he said flippantly.

Lee's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. He didn't even want to imagine how his own parents would react if he'd done something similar.

“So now they're… angry with you? Lee asked, tentatively.

“More like furious,” Arland confirmed nonchalantly, but his smirk dropped as he continued, “But I refused to apologize and suck up to everyone, which only made them angrier. I kept telling them I didn't want to be there in the first place, so really it's their own fault.”

Arland's dismissive attitude toward his parents' disappointment was something Lee struggled to comprehend. He couldn’t fathom openly challenging his parents, let alone publicly embarrassing them.

“That's enough about me though,” Arland cut through Lee's fretful thoughts with a playful tone. “What did you do while I was gone? Pretty lonely without me I bet,” he teased, clearly wanting to change the subject from his own troubles.

“Class sucked without you,” Lee readily admitted with a small smile. “But I had Thomas with me all the rest of the time, so it wasn't so bad.”

Arland paused in mid-motion of setting a card down on his desk. “You had …Thomas? Our grumpy, closeted smoker, teacher's pet Thomas? Are we talking about the same person?”

Lee nodded eagerly, a bubble of excitement forming around him. He struggled to keep his voice low as he replied, “I really, really like Thomas.”

Arland appeared absolutely flabbergasted. “So after hanging out together in my room one time you… what? Became besties?”

“We went on a date,” Lee whispered conspiratorially, his eyes lighting up at the memory of their time together. He was over the moon to finally be able to share at least part of what had happened since Arland left, even if he couldn’t mention the curse.

Discussing crushes was a true friendship rite of passage after all!

“I was gone for three and a half days,” Arland said in disbelief. “You two used to barely speak to each other. How are you suddenly dating?”

Bashful, Lee's gaze drifted towards the front row of desks, where Thomas sat. The Class President was completely focused on the reading assignment, unlike the majority of their classmates who were chatting quietly, much like Lee and Arland were.

“I’m not sure we’re technically dating,” Lee mumbled. “We haven’t really talked about it. Things are kinda complicated at the moment.”

“Complicated,” Arland repeated flatly, his eyebrows raised in surprise. “From nonexistent to complicated in less than a week.”