Chapter one.

[The Beginning or the End]

I reached the corner shop. The "Friend Group" was already there, a cluster of loud coats and cheap snacks. They all looked at me and smiled.

Was I supposed to smile back? I did it anyway. It felt like a glitch in my face. They noticed it was fake immediately and went back to ignoring me. I squeezed into the circle, a human jigsaw piece that didn't quite fit the pattern.

“The fuck you mean I’m going to do that!” Warren barked.

“Well, you have to. The school says,” Sarah replied, her voice flat.

“It’s not that bad…” Clare offered. No one looked at her.

I’m Liam. I deal with this every day. I’ve mastered the art of listening without actually hearing anything. We have a 24/7 active group chat where they post things like “Going out, y'all” or “#skibidi.” I had to Google that last one. Ten different meanings. Five minutes of my life wasted.

I stared at a tree nearby. I wondered: if it could speak, what would it say? Probably just “fuck off.” That’s what I’d say if I were a tree.

[Note to self: The key to passing as a human is to laugh when they laugh.]

Once, they caught me. They just stared at me for ten seconds—a heavy, silent vacuum—before Warren pushed me and the "mandatory" Year 11 shoving match began.

Brenda ran toward Warren. They’ve been together for ten days, if you count the three breakups and four reunions. I don't get love. I think I’m going to be alone forever, and honestly? I fully endorse the idea. Loneliness is quiet. Loneliness doesn't scream about injections.

“IT’S JUST AN INJECTION, WARREN!”

“AIN’T NO WAY I’M PUTTING THAT UP MY ASS!”

“IT’S NOT GOING INTO YOUR ASS, FOR FUCK’S SAKE!”

Warren overreacts to everything. He screamed when they "banned" phones, even though they’ve been banned since 2012. Entering the school gates feels like entering hell, but the kids who complain are pussies. There’s a climbable gate right there. If you want to escape, escape. Otherwise, shut up.

chapter two.

Current Status: Corpse (According to Warren)

Noise Level: Unacceptable

I see them everywhere. Moving mouths. Wasted speech. Who has the energy for all that vibrating air?

I kept walking until I noticed the center of gravity had shifted. Everyone was orbiting a new sun: James Leonard. I only knew the name because Flora Brave told me. Flora is my only "real" friend. We sit together in form. She talks, I nod every one-third of a sentence. It’s a functional system.

The moment I stepped near this James guy, he turned.

“HI!” he shouted. It wasn't just a greeting; it was an assault.

“Oh,” Flora whispered, leaning in late. “I forgot to mention. He’s openly gay and he screams. A lot.”

Thanks for the warning, Flora. My ears are already bleeding.

I said hi back. He kept screaming. Somewhere, the deaf population grew by 10%. Brenda must have brought him; they were standing close enough to be the same person.

The bell rang. I went to form. My tutor gave me that look—the one that says she thinks I’m a ticking time bomb.

“Are you okay, Liam?”

“Stick to what you’re paid for,” I said.

She looked angry. I didn't care. I sat at our table. Two seats. Me and Flora. She looked like someone had kicked her dog.

“They’re ignoring me again,” she muttered. “My friends. They’re being awful.”

“Join my group,” I said.

“But—”

“Shut up and do it.”

“Okay…”

Problem sorted. I hate chit-chat, but that conversation felt productive.

[Period One: A Blur]

Time flies when you’re having fun, they say. I say time flies when you have zero awareness of your surroundings.

At break, the "James Show" continued. He was doing "slut drops" in the middle of the courtyard. High energy. High attention.

Flora looked at me like she’d just seen a solar eclipse without glasses. “Is... is this what he wants to do when he’s older?”

“Don’t look at me like I know,” I replied.

He’s the "Future Slut Dropper." That’s his brand now. And the others? They’re eating it up.

At lunch, Warren dragged me into the chaos.

"You're in the group now, Liam! Don't be a corpse!"

My phone buzzed.

[Added to: THE CIRCUS 🤡]

Great. More noise..

chapter three.

[the logic of exclusion]

Biology is a room designed for discomfort. It smells like stale coffee and floor cleaner, and the stools are designed to make your spine ache after twenty minutes. Usually, I sit in the back corner where the radiator clunks like a dying machine, but the seating plan shifted today.

I’m sitting next to Oliver.

Oliver is a quiet frequency. He doesn't take up space with his voice or his ego. He has messy, dark curls and spent the first ten minutes of the lesson drawing precise, geometric patterns in the margins of his notebook. He didn't ask me how my weekend was. He didn't show me a meme. He just existed in his own bubble of silence, and for the first time in weeks, I felt like I could breathe.

Across the lab, the "Circus" was in full swing. James was sandwiched between Brenda and Anne. Brenda was leaning so far into James’s personal space they looked like a two-headed monster. Anne, however, looked stiff.

“I’m just saying,” Anne’s voice cut through the hum of the Bunsen burners, “the plan for the beach trip is a mess, James. We haven't checked the bus times, and half the group can’t even afford the train fare you suggested.”

The room went dead. It was the kind of silence that happens right before a lightning strike.

James didn't get angry. He didn't scream. He just slowly put down his pen, tilted his head, and looked at Anne with a look of profound, devastating pity.

“Oh, Anne,” he said. His voice had lost its neon brightness; it was smooth, like oil on water. “I didn’t realize you were so… stressed. You’re always so worried about ‘logic’ and ‘rules.’ It sounds exhausting to be you.”

“I’m not stressed,” Anne snapped, her face flushing a deep, ugly red. “I’m being realistic.”

“Realistic,” James repeated, the word tasting like a joke. He turned to Brenda and whispered something low. Brenda let out a sharp, jagged giggle.

Anne looked around the table for an ally. She looked at Warren, but he was suddenly very interested in the label on his water bottle. She looked at Sarah, who was busy scrolling through her phone, pretending the world didn't exist. No one defended her.

I looked at Oliver. He was still drawing, but his pen had slowed down. He caught my eye for a fraction of a second—a shared look of “did you see that?”—before he went back to his patterns.

James had just performed a social lobotomy. He hadn't used a knife; he’d just used a vibe. And Anne was officially bleeding out.

chapter four.

[the ghost in the hallway]

By the time the final bell rang, the transition was complete. Anne had been erased.

She walked past us at the school gates, her bag slung over one shoulder, looking like a ghost haunting her own life. She didn't look at us. She couldn't.

I stayed a few paces behind the main pack, Flora hovering at my side like a nervous shadow. “He just… kicked her out,” she whispered. Her voice was so quiet it was almost buried by the sound of traffic. “Brenda didn't even say goodbye. They’ve been best friends since they were seven, Liam.”

“James decided she was the problem,” I said. “So now she is.”

“We should talk to Sarah,” Flora said, her eyes darting toward the front of the group. “Sarah isn't like them. She’s sensible.”

We waited until we reached the corner shop. The group was huddled by the entrance, James at the center, glowing like a radioactive star. We managed to pull Sarah aside near the energy drink fridge.

“Sarah,” I said, trying to keep my voice flat and detached. “What’s the deal with Anne?”

Sarah didn't even look up from her screen. Her thumbs were flying across the keyboard. “James said she was being toxic. He said she was bringing everyone down with her ‘negativity.’ Honestly, Liam, it’s actually a relief. The group chat is way more fun now.”

I looked at the screen over her shoulder.

[GC: THE CIRCUS 🤡]

James: so glad the vibes are finally fixed!! 💖✨

Warren: fr fr anne was a buzzkill

Brenda: love u james!! u always know what to do

“She wasn't being toxic,” I said. “She was being right.”

Sarah finally looked at me, and for a second, I saw a flicker of the old Sarah. The one who actually liked Anne. But then she looked over at James, who was laughing and tossing a packet of sweets into the air, and the flicker died. “Don't be a buzzkill, Liam. Just enjoy the vibe.”

James caught my eye from across the pavement. He didn't look like a villain. He looked like a friend. He gave me a huge, manic wave.

“HI LIAM! HI FLORA!” he screamed.

I didn't wave back. I looked at the ground and felt the heavy, vibrating weight of my phone in my pocket. I looked toward the bus stop and saw Oliver. He had his headphones on, staring at the grey sky, completely oblivious to the social warfare happening ten feet away.

I envied him. I wanted to be wherever he was…

chapter five.

[the shipping forecast]

The group chat didn't sleep. It was a constant hum in my pocket, a digital heartbeat that I wanted to stop. But the real noise started in the canteen.

James was sitting on the edge of the table, swinging his legs like a child. He was holding court. Brenda was next to him, her eyes following his every move as if he were a prophet. Then his eyes landed on me as I walked over with Flora.

"LIAM!" James shrieked. The entire canteen seemed to tilt in our direction. "I saw you in Bio yesterday. You and Oliver. The silence was practically romantic."

I felt the back of my neck go hot. Not with embarrassment—with a cold, sharp annoyance. "We were just sitting there, James. It’s a seating plan. It's not a movie."

"Oh, don't be a bore," Brenda piped up, leaning into James's shoulder. "You guys looked so cute. Like two little grumpy clouds. I've already decided. I'm shipping it. #Loliver? No, #Liamver."

"Stop," I said. It was one word, but it felt heavy.

"See!" James clapped his hands, his grin widening until it looked painful. "He’s getting defensive. That’s the first sign of a crush. Isn't that right, Sarah?"

Sarah was sitting across from them. She didn't laugh. She looked tired. "Leave him alone, James. He’s just sitting in class."

"Ooh, Sarah's being 'logical' again," James mocked, his voice dropping into that smooth, dangerous register he used on Anne. "Is it catching? Is there a virus going around?"

And that’s when Anne appeared.

She wasn't supposed to be there. She had been "erased," but apparently, she hadn't received the memo. She stood at the end of the table, clutching her tray so hard her knuckles were white.

"Sarah," Anne said. Her voice was trembling. "Can we talk? Properly? Without... him?"

Sarah looked at Anne, then at James. James didn't say a word; he just raised an eyebrow and took a slow, deliberate sip of his juice. It was a test.

"There's nothing to talk about, Anne," Sarah said, her voice sounding hollow. "You were being a buzzkill. James is just trying to make things fun."

"Fun?" Anne's voice rose, cracking the quiet of the canteen. "He’s literally pulling us apart! Sarah, we’ve been best friends since we were four. We had a pact. And you’re throwing it away for some guy who screams for attention?"

"I don't scream for attention, Anne," James said softly, looking wounded. "I just have a big personality. I’m sorry if that’s 'too much' for you."

"Shut up, James," Anne snapped. She turned back to Sarah. "Is this really it? You're choosing him? He’s a parasite. He finds a group, sucks the life out of it, and moves on. Can’t you see that?"

Sarah stood up. Her chair scraped against the floor like a scream. "You're being toxic, Anne. James was right. You just want to control everything. If you can't be happy for us, then just... go away."

Anne stood frozen. I looked at Flora; she was hiding behind her hair, staring at her feet. I looked at Brenda; she was smiling. A small, satisfied smile.

Anne didn't cry. She just turned around and walked out of the canteen.

"Well," James said, breaking the silence with a bright, popping sound. "That was a lot of negative energy. Who wants to go to the shop after school? My treat."

The group moved. They followed him like a trail of ants. I stayed behind, staring at the empty spot where Anne had been. I felt a presence next to me.

It was Oliver. He was standing by the tray return, watching the doors. He didn't say anything. He just looked at me, then looked at the retreating back of the "Circus."

"They're all going to be gone soon," Oliver said quietly.

"Who?" I asked.

"Everyone," he replied. "Until it's just James and a room full of mirrors."

He walked away before I could respond. My phone buzzed.

[GC: THE CIRCUS 🤡]

James: so... #Liamver is definitely happening, right? 😉

I deleted the notification and walked the other way.