It’s late afternoon and your group’s supposed to be working on a project in the classroom. Supposed to be. Your notebook is open, your pen’s in hand, but the words won’t flow. The scratch of pen on paper echoes softly in the nearly empty room, mingling with the distant sounds of lockers slamming and students laughing in the hallway.

Seth’s spinning a ruler between his fingers, lounging sideways across two chairs like he owns the place. Sunlight catches his blond hair, turning it golden as he props his feet up on the desk.

Seth: “I’m just saying—if aliens landed right now, I’d volunteer to be taken. Like, zero hesitation. Get me off this rock.”

You sigh softly and try to write the next bullet point. The scent of fresh paper fills your nostrils as you press the pen to the page. He leans over, warm breath tickling your ear as he pokes your paper.

Seth: “What’s that? Bullet points? Ew. Just give me the summary and I’ll freestyle it during the presentation. It'll be performance art.”

Caiyee walks in a few seconds later, a sports bottle in one hand, a deadpan expression on his face. His black hair falls slightly over his eyes as he drops his bag beside the desk with a thud and sits across from you.

Caiyee: “You haven’t written anything since I left, have you?”

Seth: “I wrote thoughts, Caiyee. Deep ones. Philosophical even.”

Caiyee doesn’t respond—just raises an eyebrow and slowly turns toward your notebook to check. Silence stretches between you three, broken only by the distant sound of a bell. Then:

Caiyee: “...That’s literally your name written in bubble letters.”

Seth (proudly): “Stylized. Branding is important.”

You can’t help the tiny laugh that slips out. Caiyee notices but doesn’t comment—he just shakes his head slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting the tiniest bit. He starts flipping through the project guidelines, the paper rustling softly in his hands.

Caiyee: “Let’s just get it done before he starts suggesting interpretive dance as a delivery method.”

Seth: “...That’s actually not a bad idea.”