Sarah glances at Ivan as they walk, noticing that his mood has improved slightly compared to earlier. On impulse, she nudges his arm with hers once again.
"So, what have you been drawing lately? Anything good?"
Ivan considers the question for a moment before answering.
"Nothing special, really."
As they approach the staircase, Sarah suddenly stops.
"Wait!"
she calls out softly, grabbing Ivan's sleeve to stop him beside her.
Near the stairwell entrance, Mark stands surrounded by three members of the football team, all of them looking furious.
Sarah's grip on Ivan's sleeve tightens slightly as she watches the scene unfold.
The players loom over Mark, their expressions growing angrier with every passing second. One of them points aggressively at Mark's face as their voices grow louder.
"What do you think they're arguing about?"
Ivan asks quietly.
Sarah bites her lip as she thinks.
"Should we... step in?"
Her question hangs unanswered as one of the players suddenly shoves Mark hard enough to send him stumbling backward into a nearby locker with a loud crash that echoes through the hallway.
Without hesitating, Ivan steps forward, his heart pounding.
"What's going on here?!"
The three football players turn toward him at the same time.
One of them speaks.
"It's Mark. He was talking trash about the coach's game plan during yesterday's practice. We're just here to remind him to show some respect."
Mark shouts back.
"They're just mad because I suggested trying a different lineup instead of repeating the same boring thing every single game. The coach didn't like it... I mean, when I brought up my ideas in front of everyone."
Another player smirks.
"Sounds like someone needs to be reminded of his place on the team."
Ivan steps slightly between Mark and the football players.
"Alright, how about this? Mark apologizes for what he said. And to make it up to you guys, he can help with your team's cleanup duties after practice for the rest of the season."
The team captain looks over at his teammates, who seem just as surprised by the suggestion.
"Well..."
he says after a moment, running a hand through his hair.
"That's actually not a bad idea. Coach has been complaining about us leaving the place a mess."
He walks over to Mark and pats him on the shoulder.
"Apologize to Coach after practice today, and you're on cleanup duty for the next six games. Deal?"
Mark nods quickly.
"Come on. Let's get going before Coach starts complaining again."
Ivan watches them walk away before Mark turns toward him.
"Seriously, man... thanks."
He runs a nervous hand through his hair.
Sarah steps forward, placing a hand on Ivan's arm.
"You were amazing."
Ivan blushes shyly as Sarah gently hooks her arm through his.
"Come on. Let's go before all of us end up in detention because of you two."
They reach the classroom door just as the bell rings. The teacher is already standing at the front of the room.
"Good. You made it just in time,"
she announces to the class, adjusting her glasses on her nose.
"Take your seats quickly."
Ivan slides into his seat near the back corner, and Sarah sits beside him.
"Oh my God... that was close."
Mark drops into the desk behind them.
"Man, I seriously thought we were all getting detention after all the action today..."
The rest of the day passes peacefully. Then the final bell rings loudly, announcing the end of the school day. Students pour out of their classrooms in a wave of chaos.
Ivan gathers his things and heads outside.
"Hey, wait!"
Mark calls from the entrance as he runs to catch up with them.
"I was thinking... maybe we could grab some pizza tonight."
"That sounds like a good idea."
Ivan replies with a small smile.
One moment they were laughing and joking on the sidewalk.
The next, everything became a blur.
Ivan's body was hurled through the air as though he were a ragdoll. His head slammed into the pavement with a dull crack that echoed inside his skull.
Mark rolled across the ground beside him, his limbs flailing wildly before crashing into the bumper of a parked car. Sarah's scream was cut short as she spun helplessly before collapsing onto the grass, the contents of her bag scattering everywhere.
For one bewildering second, there was only silence, broken only by distant car horns and the confused cries of bystanders.
The car that had hit them was already wrapped around an electrical pole, its entire front end crushed.
Ivan's vision begins to fade as he forces himself onto his elbows, blood running down from his forehead. The world spins dangerously around him while his eyes frantically search for Sarah and Mark.
His breath catches the moment he finds them.
Their bodies are twisted across the grass and pavement in unnatural positions, their limbs bent at grotesque angles. Mark's face is mangled, one of his legs twisted unnaturally beneath him. Sarah lies motionless on the nearby grass, her neck broken.
Around them, strangers gather, pointing, whispering, and speaking into their phones. Someone shouts for an ambulance, but Ivan's entire focus remains fixed on the broken bodies of his friends.
"Sarah..."
he whispers hoarsely, crawling toward her through scattered textbooks and pieces of the wrecked car.
A black cat silently walks through the chaos, passing by Ivan with its tail held high. It stops directly over Sarah's motionless body on the grass before slowly turning its head to look at Ivan.
The cat lets out a strange wail that cuts through the surrounding noise. Its eyes remain locked onto him as it arches its back over Sarah's body.
Its gaze continues to pierce through him...
He loses consciousness.
Then he slowly opens his eyes, confused by the ceiling above him.
Sunlight filters through the curtains of his room, casting warm lines across his blankets. His head throbs with a faint headache, but it is nothing compared to the searing pain he remembers from the accident.
He carefully sits up, running a hand across his forehead where he expects to find stitches or bruises from striking the pavement. Instead, his skin feels completely smooth, aside from a faint ache that doesn't seem serious.
"What... what happened?"
he whispers into the empty room.
Fragments of the car accident replay in his mind—Sarah's twisted neck, Mark's shattered limbs—but every memory feels distant and hazy.
Then, suddenly, someone knocks on his bedroom door.