Chapter 109: School Trip
The days leading up to Friday were a weird kind of quiet. A new routine had settled into the apartment, one that didn’t involve him just hiding in his room. Kofi would wake up and make toast, and Thea would eventually emerge from her room and eat a slice in silence at the dining table. It was still awkward as hell, but it was a start.
He came home from school one afternoon to find her sketchbook left on the coffee table. ’I shouldn’t look. That’s an invasion of privacy.’ He looked anyway. After a few blank pages, he saw it. A perfect sketch of a sparrow. It was really good. A few pages later, a blue jay. ’She’s actually drawing.’
He felt a quiet, warm feeling in his chest. He closed the book and put it back exactly where he found it.
On Thursday night, he stood in front of his open duffel bag, feeling completely useless.
’Okay. Folding. Nina said folding. Like files in a filing cabinet. How hard can that be?’
He picked up a t-shirt and tried to fold it into a rectangle. It came out looking like a sad, lopsided napkin. He tried again. Worse.
He let out a frustrated sigh. ’This is so much harder than it looks. Why is folding a skill? I’m just gonna roll it.’
He resorted to his old method, rolling his clothes into tight logs and stuffing them into the bag. It wasn’t pretty, but it zipped. He felt a small sense of victory. He flopped onto his bed, completely drained.
’A school trip.’ He stared at his ceiling. ’I’m going on a school trip. With friends. And my... sister.’ The word still felt weird, like a costume he was trying on. The responsibility of it all was a heavy weight on his shoulders. He had to make sure Thea was okay. He had to make sure Jake didn’t ask Ruby about any more food groups. And he had to deal with whatever was going on with Nina after their almost-kiss in the hallway.
’My life is so much work now.’
A small, fluttering feeling started in his stomach. He was terrified. He was also, stupidly, excited. He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.
’This is going to be a complete and total disaster.’