I shake my head. “So?”
“Thought you’d want to go.”
“You want to?”
“First party of the year, man. We should be there. Network, you know? Good for business.”
I shake my head again. “Not my thing.”
“Come on—”
“No.”
He sighs but doesn’t push. “Alright. Your loss.”
We split at the dorm entrance. He heads to his room, and I head to mine.
Inside, I lock the door, kick off my shoes, and fall onto the bed. I pull out my phone and spend the evening scrolling—checking messages from runners, confirming drops, making sure everything’s running smoothly.
The next day starts the same. Morning skate, class, lunch.
I’m scrolling through my phone between classes when I see a notification. A follow request on Instagram. I open it. It’s the girl from music club. The honey-haired one. Her username is something obnoxious—bandgirlvibesor some shit. Her bio says she’s a “singer/songwriter/dreamer.”
I decline the request.
Pick-me girl bullshit.
Then I see a text notification.
Axel:This week?
I ignore it. Delete the message without reading further.
I’m walking to my afternoon class when I hear footsteps pounding behind me.
“Koa.”
I stop, turn. Axel’s jogging toward me, face flushed, eyes wild.
He catches up, out of breath. “Hey. Where’s my shit for this week?”
I stare at him. Judge this weak link standing in front of me, all desperation and entitlement. “You have none.”
He laughs. Nervous. Confused. “What do you mean? Are you fucking with me?”
I shake my head. “No. You’re off the hook.”
His face goes blank. “Shit. Really? Why?”
“Ask your sister.”
Something shifts in his expression. Confusion turns to rage. He grabs me by the collar of my shirt, shoves me back.
I laugh. I can’t help it.
“What the fuck do you mean, my sister?” he snarls. “Stay the fuck away from her!”
“Now you have life in your eyes?” I push him off me, fix my shirt. “But it’s too late.”
