LOGINLUKE’S P.O.V The bell for first period rings just as I finish changing. I head straight to regular English class, the non-AP one. Fortunately, Dre doesn’t take the regular classes, and it saves me from seeing her very upset face. It's been a full day since I last saw her and I'm sure she's mad. I knock on the door, poke my head in, and put on my best serious face. “Excuse me, Mr Harlan? Coach Adams needs Ian for a minute. It’s urgent.” Ian’s sitting in the middle, watching with an eyebrow raised at first, then quickly gets my message. The teacher waves him out without much fuss. Ian grabs his bag and follows me into the hallway, looking confused. I pull Ian around the corner into an empty stretch of hallway near the vending machines. “What happened?” Ian whispers. I keep my voice low and try to speak as fast as possible. “I talked to TJ after practice. Cornered him on the court when everyone else left.” I pull out my phone, swipe to the recording, and hit play. Ian li
LUKE’S P.O.V Practice finally ends with Coach Adams blowing his whistle and yelling one last round of reminders about the final game. Everyone’s drenched in sweat and breathing hard as they start heading toward the locker room for quick showers before first period. I hang back, pretending to fix my shoelace. My eyes stay on TJ, who doesn’t follow the others right away. Instead, he lingers near the sideline, bouncing a ball slowly. This is my shot. I grab a ball and walk over casually, dribbling once or twice as I approach. “Hey, man,” I say, keeping my voice easy. “Got a second?” TJ looks up, surprised but not suspicious. “Yeah, what’s up?” I stop a few feet away and spin the ball in my hands. My heart is pounding harder than it did during the scrimmage. I have to play this carefully. “I’ve been thinking about Dre lately,” I start, not bothering being discreet about my feelings. He was there at the party when Vincent asked what my deal was with Ruth and Dre. He has to kn
LUKE’S P.O.V We hit the locker room, change quickly, and head straight to the court. The squeak of shoes and the constant bounce of balls already fill the gym. Coach is in full form, barking orders like always, with Vincent right by his side. “Move your asses! This is the final game of your high school careers! I will not let you embarrass me out there!” We’re playing against the Red Devils, Chrashaw Prep again. All my years playing against them they won every game. They never failed to serve our asses on a platter, whether it was a home or an away game—they're that good. They have a winning streak, and they sure as hell didn’t want to break it now. But the Eagles are just as determined. Vincent claps his hands sharply, rounding everyone up. “Let’s go! Focus! Warm-ups first, then we run sets. Final game means no excuses!” I start my stretches, but Coach’s eyes lock on me almost immediately. “Ford!” he yells, storming over. “You pull that meltdown shit from last game again
LUKE’S P.O.V It killed me when I let Dre’s phone call go straight to voicemail this morning. It killed me to ignore her, but according to Ian, it needs to be this way. Ian suggested I ride with him to school; that way I wouldn’t have to give Dre a ride back home, leaving the chances of the sender catching us together down to zero. According to the pictures, the sender unfortunately has eyes everywhere, the school parking lot too. The list I wrote last night is currently folded and tucked safely in my back pocket. Ian only skimmed through it. His parents came home very late, so he had to attend to them. After his mum made us have dinner/ breakfast, we were both exhausted and slept immediately. As soon as we arrive at school, I give Ian the list to look at properly. The page is filled with my handwriting. Names, motives, question marks, and crossed-out lines. I lean back in the seat, rubbing my still tired eyes while Ian starts reading. He scans the list slowly, eyebrows raise
DRE’S P.O.VAfter hours and hours of lying awake, my alarm finally puts me out of my misery.The glow of my phone screen is the only light in the room. I keep staring at it, willing Luke to text or call me back, but the last message I sent him hours ago still sits unread. He’s at Ian’s. He’s supposedly ‘still’ asleep, but it’s seven in the morning; he has to be awake by now.While brushing my teeth, I call Luke again, hoping that this time he’s wide awake and already on his way to drive us to school. I can’t imagine going alone. Ruth is still mad, and I have a feeling she’ll confront me again and I don't want to face it alone. After I told Luke she knew about us, he went straight to her place to meet her himself. He never told me what happened when he was there— what he said to Ruth, or what she said to him. He came home afterwards and said there was nothing I needed to worry about, and that was it.But worrying is all I seem capable of. Worrying about what happened with him and
DRE’S P.O.VThe line connects after a third call.“Hello?” I call impatiently. “Luke, are you there?”A few seconds pass, and I finally get a response, but it’s not Luke.“Hi, Andrea,” the soft-spoken person responds. I immediately recognise the voice; it’s Ian’s.My cheeks still burn when I recall our last conversation. Ian caught Luke and me messing around in the locker room, and I haven't known how to face him ever since.“Hi, Ian...can you put Luke on the phone?” Luke did mention he’ll be staying at Ian’s, but then he changed his mind. At least, I thought he did. Why else would he leave me here alone tonight?“Uh, he’s asleep. Is everything okay?”I swallow hard. I just want to know if he’s fine, from him and not Ian. But if he’s asleep at Ian’s, everything should be okay then.“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I assure, forcing lightness into my tone. I just wanted to know if he’s okay... that’s all. Sorry I called, good night—”“Wait,” he cuts in. My ears perk up. I strain
DRE’S P.O.VMrs Hampshire pops her head out of the office. “You can come in now.”I walk in nervously. I have no clue why I’m in here.Tutorials are going well, I’m performing exactly, maintaining my grades because of my scholarship, and my application for Luiton University was sent out days ago.S
DRE’S P.O.VLuke kills the engine after parking smoothly in front of my house.He was quiet the whole drive here, and it’s been killing me.He’d been locked in Principal Dennis’s office for hours. Ruth and I had waited until the receptionist finally told us to go back to class.After school, he dro
LUKE’S P.O.VI sit in the reception, waiting to be called in.It’s been ten minutes, and even after reporting myself to the receptionist, no one has called for me.My fingers drift to my knuckles, brushing lightly over the bruises.They’re swollen and red—streaked with blood that isn’t mine.Nathan
DRE’S P.O.V“But did you know?” I ask, watching Ruth splash water on her face.She straightens watching me through the mirror.“Know what?”“About Nate and Maddie.” My voice cracked a little. “Did you know what they were doing?”Ruth turns off the tap and facing me fully, her eyes already puffy and







