My eyes start to sting as I stare at my phone screen, unable to look away as I watch the writing indicator appear and disappear. Finally, after a few minutes, a simple yet anxiety-inducing message comes through. ‘Fang: Meet me after school tomorrow.’ ‘Fang: Please.’ I set my phone down on the bed beside me and cup my head in my hands. … “She wants to meet?” Reeda asks, looking up from the doodle she's been working on. “Yeah… She sent me a text last night.” “What did you tell her?” “I didn’t text her back.” “You left her on read?” She asks, a hint of worry on her face. “I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t want to say yes and then not show up.” Reeda shifts in her seat slightly. “So… you gonna go talk to her?” “I should.” She looks forward again, thinking for a moment before going back to her doodle. “I should, right?” “You should do what you think is right amigo.” …What I feel is right. The bell chimes and she slides over the doodle, it’s a simple drawing of the mascot costume, with smoke billowing from the air hole. We walk out through the hallways and join the carne line. The sun shines through the windows and lights up the cafeteria. I wonder if she would want to eat outside for a change. “Sure man, sounds nice.” “Huh? OH. Uhh alright.” FUCK Reeda lets out a giggle as she reaches down and grabs a tray, I follow her through the line and we make our way through the cafeteria and out through the exit doors. The warm breeze and the clear sky add to the beauty of the high school's gardens. As we take our seats on a bench I get hit with a sense of deja-vu. I glance around and realize this is the same spot we came to after Reeda's talk with Trish. She seems to have realized too, opting to watch the breeze blow through the flowers instead of eating. After letting out a yawn she sits back a bit on the bench, closing her eyes. “Feels real nice out huh?” She asks, turning her head towards me slightly. “It does. You hear everyone talk about Volcaldera’s nice weather, but it’s different when you’re actually here you know.” “Mhm.” She lets out a sigh as she tilts her head back. I grab her tray from the bench and lay it next to our bags, along with my tray. Thinking about talking with Fang all day has ruined my appetite for today. I turn back to Reeda, about to ask her about dinner when I hear a small sound. I notice her mouth hanging open slightly as she softly snores. Many evil thoughts course through my head as I quietly reach for the marker in my bag. I can already imagine the giant mustache she’s gonna have. My villainous plans are ruined when she starts to slide over. I quickly sit back up and catch her on my shoulder. Guess I’m stuck here now… It’s kinda weird how fast she fell asleep, she didn’t seem high. I peer over her hair and take note of her eyes, specifically the dark rings around them. I guess she isn’t getting enough sleep. I wonder what’s keeping her up at night. A lightbulb goes off in my head. I do know what’s keeping her up, she just broke up with her friends, no wonder she’s having trouble sleeping. I hear a soft mumble escape from her, I watch as her tail very slowly creeps up and wraps around my waist like a snake. This is the third time I’ve seen her do this, and every time it’s me that gets constricted. Must be some kind of protection thing, happens when she’s stressed I guess. “mmnn” She mumbles. I watch her face, she grimaces through her mumbles. I reach a hand up and rest a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort- “NO!” She screams as she shoots up from her seat, her tail threatening to squeeze me to death. “No don’t… don’t… huh.” She lets out a sigh as she sits back down on the bench. I give her a small tap on the shoulder and she turns to me. “Hmm? OH! Sorry dude.” She apologizes as she finally unravels her tail. I take a deep breath and hold my sides, I feel like a used tube of toothpaste. “No problem… You ok?” I say while I try to regain my composure. She rubs her face with her hands, wiping away the few tears in her eyes. “Yeah bro. Just another nightmare.” “Another?” She looks up and blinks a few times before turning to me, “It’s nothing bro, just that time of year I guess.” That time of year? Like estrus season? Does estrus season cause nightmares? “Dude… It’s not estrus.” She gives me an almost concerned look. The bell interrupts us. I look over and see students filing back into the building. I turn to Reeda, who’s already off the bench picking up her bag and tray. “Sorry for falling asleep on ya, and thanks for lettin me use you as a pillow.” Huh? She points to my jacket, looking down I realize there’s a giant drool mark on it. …Ugh… After grabbing my things I follow behind Reeda as we walk back into the school. I barely make it to music class before the bell rings. I make my way to a seat and set my bag down beside it. As the class begins I shoot a quick glance around the room, and I spot Fang almost instantly. She stares at me from the corner of her eye, she looks… angry? As I stare back at her she seems to get more and more upset. Eventually, she starts to grimace, before clenching her teeth and standing up. She walks over to the hall pass, grabs it, and walks out of the room without talking to Mr Jingo. What the hell was that? I fight the urge to follow her and see what’s wrong. I’ll save it for our talk. … Reeda agreed to wait for Fang and me to talk it out before we go back to her house. I sit up and manage to catch a glimpse of her tail flicking through the air as she lies on the grass next to the main entrance stairs. Sitting on the stairs to the parking lot exit, I scan through the departing students. The one specific person I’m looking for doesn’t seem to be among them. I check the time on my phone again, 20 minutes since the last bell. Where the hell is she? Standing up and walking through the parking lot I peer around the corner to get a better look at the main entrance stairs, maybe she’s around there? …Nope. I unlock my phone and pull up the messaging app. ‘Me: ?’ The ‘delivered’ marker instantly changes to ‘read’, and the typing indicator pops up. ‘Fang: Fuck off.’ Huh? ‘Me: what.’ I glance around the parking lot before typing out another message. ‘Me: what do you mean? are we not meeting?’’ ‘Error- Message unable to send: Blocked by user.’ …Shit. I make my way over to Reeda and set my bag down on the grass. She looks over with a smile, which quickly diminishes upon seeing my frown. “Did it go bad?” She asks. I take a seat beside her and pull up the message, handing the phone to her as I lay down on my back. She scrolls up a little and reads the message from last night, then the few from today. She lets out a scoff and lets her arm fall to her side on the grass. We both stare up at the clouds, watching them slowly make their way across the sky. It’s almost 4 now, so we have about 2 hours until dinner. “Should we go back to your house now?” I ask, not turning my head away from the clouds. No answer comes. “Reeda?” I turn to see what's wrong. …She’s asleep. Again. Oh well, best just to let her rest. At least this time my jacket won’t be a drool sponge. [POST-NOTES] really short chapter unfortunately, but the next one will be full sized.