The day had dragged on, but the night seemed even slower.
Faith lay in her bed, her eyes tracing patterns on the ceiling as she listened to the quiet hum of the night outside. The air was cool, slipping through the slightly open window, bringing with it the soft rustling of tree branches. Occasionally, the wind would pick up, making the leaves scrape against the glass, the sound both eerie and oddly calming.
Normally, at this hour, she'd have a book in her hands, flipping through pages, getting lost in some fictional world. But tonight, she couldn't concentrate.
Her thoughts were tangled—knotted up with things she didn't want to think about.
Like the petite girl from earlier, sweeping up the shattered pieces of glass. The way everyone watched but did nothing. The way it all felt so... normal.
Then, there was Abdullah.
Faith clenched her jaw just thinking about it. He had waltzed up to her desk and casually asked for her practical manual. Like it was nothing. Like she'd happily hand it over.
And Alex.
Why did she just give it to him so easily? Why didn't she argue? Why didn't she at least act like she cared?
Faith rolled onto her side, hugging a pillow to her chest. Maybe she needed a distraction.
Her fingers reached for her phone on instinct. Before she could second-guess herself, she opened the group chat and tapped the call button.
The phone rang twice before a familiar voice answered.
"Hey, what's up?"
It was Alex, but her voice sounded a little strange like her mouth was full.
Faith frowned slightly. "Good evening… What are you eating?"
"Just some snacks," Alex said, her words slightly muffled. The sound of crunching came through the speaker.
Before Faith could respond, another voice cut in.
"Snacks?"
It was Stephanie. She must have just joined the call, and as expected, the only word she caught was the one related to food.
Faith smirked. "Isn't it too late to be eating that?"
"Well, I'm not sleeping anytime soon, so…?" Alex replied casually.
"And I'd assume you aren't sleeping either," Stephanie added. "That's why you called, right?"
Faith hesitated.
Was that why?
She wasn't exactly tired, but it wasn't like she had anything in particular to say either.
Before she could come up with an answer, Stephanie's voice took on a teasing edge.
"Or is it because of Cole?"
Faith immediately regretted making the call.
"Don't start," Alex said, clearly amused. "It's too soon. We'll get there eventually, though."
Faith groaned, rubbing her temple. "Can you both stop? I called to pass time with my friends, not to discuss some weird guy."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Alex's voice, playful as ever"He's weird? How?"
Faith blinked.
That was… a good question.
How was Cole weird?
She opened her mouth to respond, then hesitated.
Was he really weird?
He wasn't loud or obnoxious. He didn't cause trouble or draw attention to himself. If anything, he was quiet, reserved almost too calm.
But there was something about him.
Something that irritated her.
She just couldn't put her finger on what.
Realizing she had taken too long to respond, she muttered the first thing that came to mind. "Well… he just is."
Stephanie wasn't buying it.
"You're the only one who pays attention to Cole, so we wouldn't know."
Faith stiffened.
Was that true?
No. That couldn't be true.
She wasn't the only one who noticed him she was just the only one annoyed by him.
Right?
Before she could dwell on that thought, Stephanie suddenly spoke again.
"Hold on. I've got to go Ben's calling."
Alex made a small noise of interest. "Oooh, Ben?"
But before she could tease further, Stephanie had already left the call.
Now it was just Faith and Alex.
There was a brief pause before Alex spoke, her voice laced with amusement.
"You weren't the only one who was intimidated, you know."
Faith frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
"Why did you freeze when he came near you?"
Faith sat up a little, a frown tugging at her lips. "I didn't freeze."
Alex snorted. "You totally did. You just stood there like a statue."
Faith gritted her teeth.
She wanted to argue.
But she couldn't.
Because Alex wasn't wrong.
She had frozen.
Not because she was scared that wasn't it. It was just…
Cole's presence felt different.
He wasn't loud like some of the other boys. He didn't joke around or act cocky. He didn't try to prove anything.
And maybe that was what made her uncomfortable.
Because it felt like he didn't care about anyone's opinion including hers.
And Faith wasn't used to that.
Alex's voice pulled her back to reality. "See? You have nothing to say."
Faith huffed. "I was just… surprised, that's all."
"Mhm. Sure."
Faith rolled her eyes. "I didn't expect him to come up to me like that. It was like standing in front of a—"
She paused, searching for the right words.
Alex filled in the blank.
"A brick wall?"
Faith exhaled. "Yeah."
Alex hummed in amusement. "Not surprising. That cute girl probably felt the same way."
Faith furrowed her brows. "Speaking of her… do you know who she is?"
A brief silence followed.
Then
A faint sound.
It was soft, slow breathing.
Alex squinted at her screen.
"Faith?"
Another small inhale. Then
A tiny snore.
Alex blinked.
"No way… did she seriously fall asleep?"
She hadn't even been quiet for that long.
Alex shook her head, laughing to herself. "She's really not used to sleeping late, even though she's the one who called."
Smirking slightly, she ended the call.