Silvia’s entrance into her art class was marked by a conspicuous tardiness, a disruption that immediately captured the attention of her classmates and Mrs. Lynne.

With a hint of nervousness, Silvia approached Mrs. Lynne’s desk and offered an explanation. “Sorry, I’m late, Miss. I was getting the cut on my lip checked out in the infirmary.”

Mrs. Lynne, who was well-aware of the recent cafeteria incident, responded in a calm yet caring tone. “I know. Just take a seat, Silus.”

As Silvia made her way to her desk, a subtle but intense shift in the classroom atmosphere became apparent. Whispers and hushed conversations rippled through the students, their eyes filled with curiosity, judgement, and a touch of gossip. Silvia felt the scrutiny bearing down on her, threatening to erode her confidence.

To shield herself from their collective gaze and the unspoken judgements, she lowered her head, focusing solely on her desk. She resolved to drown out the murmurs, maintaining her composure in the face of their scrutiny.

Mrs. Lynne, keenly aware of the disruptive whispers, cleared her throat with a dignified grace, the resonance of her action compelling the class to hush. “If you could all kindly return to your creative endeavours, that would be lovely.”

Silvia, appreciating the timely intervention by Mrs. Lynne, found a renewed sense of confidence and offered a serene smile. “Mrs. Lynne must be one of the few reasons Silus could keep it together for so long,” she thought with admiration.

Silvia was on her way back home when Camila abruptly rushed up to her, her breathless voice carrying a sense of urgency.

Camila’s eyes immediately fixated on Silvia’s swollen cheek and the band-aid on her lip, sparking a fury within her. “I can’t believe they did that to you!”

“Calm down, Mila,” Silvia responded, attempting to pacify her agitated friend. “I heard they got suspended.”

But Camila’s anger still smouldered, ready to erupt at any moment. “That’s not good enough. How dare they hurt your beautiful face? I swear to God, I’ll beat the shit out of them when I see them next.”

Amidst their heated conversation, Dane suddenly materialised on the other side of Silvia, seemingly inviting himself to join their journey home.

Camila’s displeasure at his presence was noticeable. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Dane shrugged. “Can’t I join in without being questioned?”

“Jared isn’t here,” Camila retorted, her tone laced with suspicion. “We don’t need you anymore.”

“Come on, aren’t we friends now?”

Camila felt cautious of him. “You want something, don’t you?”

Dane halted in his tracks, his demeanour shifting to one of vulnerability. Silvia and Camila exchanged puzzled glances, sensing a deeper issue at play.

He stooped his head low. “Be honest, am I annoying to be around?”

“Yes,” Camila flippantly answered without hesitation.

Silvia gave a more thoughtful response. “No.” She recalled the delinquents mentioning Silus calling Dane annoying. “Don’t tell me…”

Dane’s eyes lost their usual spark. “Did Silus really say that about me? Is that why he replaced me with them? Man, I thought we were good friends since pre-k.”

Silvia gently patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t believe anything those guys say. Even if Silus did say that, do you really think he meant it? He’s got issues right now, so don’t take his words too seriously.”

Camila, not fully privy to the context, was curious. “What are you guys on about?”

Silvia decided to lighten the mood with a playful jab at Dane. “Dane’s just being a wuss.”

Dane was momentarily surprised by the slang coming out of Silvia’s mouth which was uncharacteristic of her refined nature. “Hey!”

Aiden returned home after a long day of navigating the challenges at school, only to be greeted by a scene that instantly crushed his spirits—the all-too-familiar turmoil of his intolerable household. He watched his father, Russell, a man he struggled to recognise anymore, holding a voluptuous woman by the waist, their intertwined forms moving with a seductive grace towards his bedroom. It was a sight that no longer surprised Aiden, though it cut deep, like a wound that refused to heal.

He ridiculed the unbearable sight. “Another woman, Dad?”

Russell halted, his steps turning into a heavy pause. Slowly, he turned his head to meet Aiden’s gaze. “What are you implying, son?”

Aiden taunted him further. “Isn’t this the third one this month?”

Russell’s temper flared, and he stomped towards Aiden, his footsteps echoing with an ominous intensity. In an explosive burst of anger, he slapped Aiden across the face, the sting radiating through the room. But the young man remained eerily expressionless, as if the years of mayhem had left him emotionally numb.

Russell scolded him mercilessly, attempting to regain control. “Don’t you dare say that in front of your new mother.”

Aiden’s cheek stung from the blow, but he simply scoffed in response. “Mother, huh?” He scowled at the unfamiliar woman, his tone laced with bitter sarcasm. “Well, ‘mum’, I hope you last longer than the others.”

Before his father could counteract, Aiden retreated to the refuge of his bedroom.

Russell stretched his neck to restrain himself. “Such an insolent child. Of course he’s like this, being raised by that bitch.”

Aiden, leaning heavily against his bedroom door, overheard his father’s demeaning words about him and his mother. He slid down to the floor, and a cold gust of wind crept in from under the door. He buried his face in his hands, feeling the despair pressing down on him, the urge to scream clawing at his throat. But not a single tear came—his eyes had grown dry from years of disappointment and anguish.

Dane and Camila had spontaneously gathered in the living room of Silvia’s home, each engrossed in their phones as they passed the time. Silvia, on the other hand, emerged from the kitchen, somewhat befuddled by the unplanned meetup.

Camila stashed her phone back in her pocket, steering the conversation towards the upcoming exams. “Oh yeah, Silvia, about the exams next month, we can finally study together! And Dane too…if he wants…preferably not…”

Silvia reclined on the couch. “I’ve already started studying, but a study group sounds like a lot of fun.”

Dane and Camila exchanged wide-eyed looks of astonishment—they couldn’t believe their ears.

“I forgot you came from Rosecrest,” Camila remarked.

The reference to her prestigious alma mater tugged at a distant memory for Silvia. “Rosecrest, huh? I forgot why I enrolled there in the first place.”

Camila’s tone carried a touch of sarcasm. “You were probably lured by their formidable reputation as the school that could provide you huge benefits after graduation.”

As Camila spoke, Silvia continued to reflect on her past at Rosecrest, the memories both cherished and obscured by time. The recent tearful encounter with Felicia flashed through Silvia’s mind, reminding her of Felicia’s earnest desire to attend Rosecrest.

Dane returned home to the inviting aroma of dinner being prepared by his dear mother, Maeve. As he entered their cosy abode, he immediately noticed the conspicuous absence of his father and sought his mother cutting onions in the kitchen.

“Where’s Dad?” he queried.

Maeve paused her onion chopping for a moment, her eyes lingering on the chopping board as if she were lost in a maze of her own thoughts. “…He mentioned he’s at a work gathering at the moment. Dinner is almost ready, so why don’t you go take a shower first, Dane?” Her words, though laden with maternal warmth, carried an undertone of weariness.

Dane accepted the explanation with a nod and proceeded to his bedroom, where the trappings of daily life seemed to fade into the background, allowing him a moment of solitude. As he settled in, his phone suddenly sprang to life, its ringtone piercing the stillness of his room. He noticed that it was Aiden calling, and he swiftly answered, his voice infused with casualness.

“Hey, when are you gonna start studying for the exams?” Aiden’s voice crackled through the phone.

“Soon, but I’m gonna study with a friend of mine.”

“Yo, let me tag along.”

Dane hesitated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of Aiden’s involvement, before issuing a more definitive response. “Sorry, bro. It’s a childhood friend of mine from Rosecrest. She’s just helping me with the basics, and she’s not comfortable around strangers.”

Aiden’s vulgar habits instinctively seeped out. “A girl? Introduce me to her then we won’t be strangers anymore.”

Dane’s tone grew sterner. “Nah, you’re not going near her. Find someone else to play with.”

Aiden chuckled, recognising his friend’s protective stance. “So even you have a special someone, huh?”

“Whatever. I’m hanging up.” Dane ended the call—he was resolute in his decision to keep Aiden away from the one person who was becoming more important in his life.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, Aiden couldn’t shake off a growing sense of melancholy, wondering who else might be able to divert his attention from the turmoil of his own life.

Jared arrived at the local mall, his purposeful stride carrying him past the entrance of Twinkle Toys. There, his attention was immediately ensnared by the sight of Silvia, who was meticulously organising the store’s shelves. Her presence, as always, was magnetic, drawing his gaze like a moth to a flame. Yet, what seized his attention more was the band-aid on her lip and a faint bruise that lingered on her cheek. It was clear that she was attempting to conceal these blemishes with the skilful application of makeup.

These injuries were not lost on Jared, for they bore an uncanny resemblance to the wounds Silus had recently sustained during the violent school scuffle. A sense of disquiet began to creep over him, casting a shadow over his initial intention to strike up a casual conversation with Silvia.

However, as he continued to observe her, a series of memories and recent events flooded his mind. First, the recollection of Silvia’s scraped knees from just a day ago came surging back. Then, the realisation struck him like a thunderbolt: the improbable recurrence of these injuries in such a short span of time could not be a mere coincidence. The pieces of the puzzle, or rather the disconcerting enigma, didn’t align in a logical manner.

A profound sense of unease gripped Jared’s heart, and his desire to engage Silvia in conversation waned. Instead, he found himself making an abrupt U-turn, retreating from the scene and leaving behind the haunting implications that swirled around him.

The morning sun bathed the school campus in its gentle, golden light. Silvia navigated the familiar path to her locker, intending to retrieve a textbook. Yet, when her eyes landed on the figure of Jared up ahead, her heart pounded in her chest, and a sense of trepidation surged through her veins.

Quickly and somewhat frantically, she opened her locker door, its metal surface becoming an impromptu shield to obscure her from view. Her pulse quickened, the rhythmic thumping in her chest like a drumbeat of anxiety.

Jared, for his part, sensed her presence, even though he only caught a fleeting glimpse. However, he chose to avert his gaze, his thoughts tangled in a bewildering web of confusion and doubt. He continued to walk past her without acknowledging her existence, a subtle yet strangely reassuring gesture that eased some of the tension coiled within Silvia.

At a distance, Dane, who had observed Jared’s unusual behaviour, approached Silvia with concern etched in his voice. “Did Jared do something to you?”

“Surprisingly not.”

Meanwhile, Jared’s mind was a tempest of perplexing thoughts as he distanced himself further from Silvia. He muttered to himself in quiet contemplation, “Now that I think about it, Silus used to be tough, but now he’s always hiding every time he sees me.” The enigma of Silvia and Silus deepened, casting shadows that reached even the mind of Jared.