Ryan, Joshua, and I were sitting behind the school, waiting for James and Mike. The new school year had just begun, and the heat was unbearable.
But that wasn't really on my mind. My thoughts were elsewhere—constantly circling around Mike. He had changed beyond recognition. He'd become more withdrawn than before, stopped talking to me as often as he used to. To make matters worse, I could see how nervous he'd become within our group, especially when the others were around. But it wasn't just him—everyone else had changed too.
They had turned cold, emotionless, rude, and merciless.
It felt like they were hiding something from me and simply refused to tell me. I didn't pry—otherwise, I'd just get punched in the face.
The atmosphere was already tense enough today because of school.
We were dressed in uniforms that, to be honest, felt unbearably tight. It seemed like the tie was at least one size too small. I had bought two spare ties a few days ago since I had lost the one from last year.
"When is James coming?" Joshua flicked the last of his cigarette toward the trash can. He missed.
"Soon," Ryan muttered, clearly irritated. I didn't know the reason, but he usually didn't get angry for nothing. Then again, this was Ryan—considering how things had been with the group, there had to be a reason.
Suddenly, Joshua's phone rang.
He entered the password and opened a message. His expression shifted from anger to a twisted mix of disgust and disappointment.
"What?" Ryan asked, curious.
"Mary's coming with him in a minute."
Ryan's face dropped. Honestly, apart from James (since she was his girlfriend) and Malachai, who never had much of an opinion about her, nobody liked her here. Joshua always said she had an annoying voice, that she was irritating, and that she gossiped about everyone. I knew I had been the subject of plenty of her rumors, but when Ryan and Joshua found out she had been blabbing about their parties—and spreading rumors all over school that they often snorted something (which was true, but they didn't want everyone to know)—they completely lost respect for her. Whenever she was around, they did whatever they could to avoid talking about private stuff.
I think Mike didn't like her either.
"And Malachai? Where is he?" I asked, breaking the short silence.
"Where else? At work, like always. He always disappears whenever it's time to show up. I wish I could skip going to that fucking shitty place too!" Joshua shouted.
"Maybe... get a j*b?" I suggested.
"Don't even joke about that."
I hadn't expected that answer. I thought it would be more aggressively toned down. People can surprise you.
Suddenly, we heard footsteps approaching.
"No," a voice muttered. It sounded eerily familiar.
"Shut up," answered another voice. That one I recognized instantly—it was James. I'd know that low, manic voice anywhere.
Ryan, Joshua, and I exchanged looks. They nodded.
"Let's go to James," Ryan said.
We walked forward.
With every step, the voices grew louder, the words more vulgar and intense—something I didn't really like. But I had never heard him speak that way to Mary. Only… that wasn't Mary's voice. It was someone else's.
I started wondering who it could be and what the hell was going on.
"Quiet now," Joshua hushed us.
We peeked around the corner of the wall—the only thing blocking our view.
"Huh…?" I muttered to myself.
"What are you doing?" I asked out loud.
It was them… Mike and James.
Mike, tears in his eyes, was pinned against the wall. James was right in front of him, pressing a hand tightly over his mouth.