Chapter Text
I looked down at the paper in front of me, hopeless. It was fourth period, and the sound of my stomach grumbling was louder than my own thoughts. Luckily for me, the room was boiling, and the only form of ventilation in the ancient room was the stray, gentle breeze of the wind. A singular bead of sweat dripped onto my test paper, snapping me back into my unfortunate reality. I quickly turned my head around in no exact direction, hoping the museum of educational posters around me would somehow very obviously 'hint' me towards the answer... Nothing.
"I am so gonna fail..." I muttered under my breath, which caught the ears of my maths teacher who shot me a warning glance. UGHHHH!!!!
After long consideration, I decided to drop my ink-splattered pen and instead bask in the warmth of the ever-glowing sunlight. Ah, I know I was only in a conveniently advertised jail, but in that moment I felt free as the undying thoughts of failure in the back of my mind weakened. "I could stay like this forever," I thought to myself as I began to imagine the glorious palm trees I could be basking upon in only a matter of weeks. With sand that stretched as far as the eye could see, topped off with the frequent splash of clear tidal waves; and one of those super expensive massages with the special oils that looked like heaven on earth; and a coconut in one hand accompanied by a cooling cocktail in the other, and a good sunhat, and sunscreen so I don't get burnt, and Issac, of course.
Who else would I be with?
Putting my imagination to the side, I turned to look at Issac's perfect face again. (I looked once before the test as a good luck charm... and my gosh, did it work.) All I could think about was him as I absentmindedly scribbled down several probably right answers and others with a 50% chance of being wrong. Oh well, good enough for me ;). As Issac's eyes met mine, a mischievous grin formed on his flawless face. My body instantly heated up. I hesitantly replicated the expression on his face and, in response, gave me a dangerous wink which made me shyly turn away. I hadn't been best friends with Issac for long, only about a year really. Well, I'd always known him, and we were friends, alright, but ever since he moved to my side of the year in year 9, we'd grown so much closer. And some (my old uncle) would even say that we're joint at the hip. So yeah, we're pretty much inseparable!
The real reason is—well, the reason I'm writing this is because I think something is wrong with me. Like, seriously, and I'm always thinking about Issac. At this point, it's like he's taken over my mind. It's not OK.
On another note, I feel like I can talk about anything without being judged or pitied. Like I can forget them and well everything. I hate them and all their lies and it kills me that I'll never forget but I'm lucky to have Issac and Uncle Toni. Sometimes I wonder why they did this to me but deep down, I couldn't be more grateful. It makes me sick. How could they do this to me. Why. And it's all my fault; that I'll never see them again. Before I knew it, tears were rolling down my face. RINGGG!!!!
"Folks, please leave your test papers on your desks and you're free to go"
"Saffron". A familiar voice called out my name.
After wiping away my tears and taking a few deep breaths I looked up to see Issac.
"Let's go", said Issac and not even a second later he had packed away all the stuff into my bag.
"Bro c'mon. I'm hungry". I instinctively replied with an inaudible "sorry" and as I rushed to my feet, Issac grabbed me by the hand and led me towards the cafeteria.
My stomach felt weird and it wasn't hunger but I ignored it after we got in line for whatever special was being served today.