Ryan jumped when his phone went off. Ignoring the half finished comic page in front of him, he picked up the phone and got up from his desk. He really should take a break anyway.

‘How was your day?’

The text from Jake made him smile. He was finding that he liked the casual no-reason-behind-it texting. It wasn’t nearly as cheesy as he had thought when he saw it in movies.

‘Same as always. I have to prepare an oral presentation for one of my classes.’

‘How’s that going to work?’

Ryan glanced at his computer. He had sent the professor an email about the presentation, but hadn’t heard back yet. It was making him nervous, since the vibe he got from the professor was one of rigid stone.

‘Luna says I should use a text to speech app.’

‘If you do, make it British.’

Ryan laughed. ‘Why?’

‘Why not? For all they know, you are British.’

Ryan sent the appropriate emoji and flopped down on his bed. He had already been in communication with the student success office at the beginning of the year, and he had permission to use assistive devices. Maybe the app wasn’t such a bad idea, assuming he could find a voice he liked.

His phone chimed again, and he turned his head to look at it.

‘Speaking of Luna, do you have plans for her birthday tomorrow?’

‘I’ve got a gift for her, but there’s no real plans.’

A pang of guilt hit Ryan as he sent the message. He never did anything with Luna for her birthday. He loved her, and he would have loved to celebrate with her, but he figured she’d have more fun without his discomforts and anxieties getting in the way. She usually just spent the day out with friends.

‘Okay.’ Jake’s text pulled Ryan from his guilty thoughts. ‘I was thinking of taking her to the new karaoke bar downtown.’

‘She’ll love that.’

‘Great. Where should I meet you guys?’

Happiness and cold dread simultaneously filled Ryan. For a moment, he entertained the idea of just answering the question. He wanted to go to a downtown bar with Jake. He could see himself not caring about the crowds if Jake was beside him.

But… Luna came first.

‘I shouldn’t go.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t sing.’ Before Jake could make another attempt to convince him, he went on. ‘You guys will have more fun without me. Make sure that Luna has a good time.’

He stuck his phone under the pillow and tried to ignore it when he heard Jake’s ringtone. He lasted almost a minute before diving under the pillow to see what the text was. Even then, he told himself that he wasn’t going to reply.

‘If you say so, I won’t push it. But I still think the three of us should do something together.’

Ryan bit his lip. Jake was right.

‘I’ll bring cupcakes to school tomorrow.’

‘Homemade?’

‘What’s the point of birthday cupcakes if they aren’t homemade?’

Jake sent a very happy emoji. ‘Can’t wait.’