Marquis apologizes to Anna quietly, his voice low, almost weighed down. She nods, her expression unreadable, and tells him she'll wait outside the P.E. room. He watches her leave, her figure blending with the shadows of the hallway, and takes a moment to lean against his locker, the cold steel grounding him.
Kai's note is stuck to the door, the handwriting messy but unmistakable:
"Yeah, we got trashed, but I have to read now. If I can't win a match, I'll do so in the exams."
Marquis huffs out a laugh, pulling it off the door and stuffing it into his pocket. Typical Kai. He liked to talk big, but he was always running in his own lane, away from the mess of things.
