The sunlight poured through the tall dorm windows as Ere'ana groaned, burying her face deeper into her pillow. She wasn't ready to face another day of school—especially with Avarina breathing down her neck about Jack.
"Ere!" Avarina's voice was loud and unforgiving. She yanked the blankets off Ere'ana's bed, earning a muffled growl. "Come on, we're seniors. This isn't the year to sulk in bed. You've got a date to plan."
Ere'ana lifted her head, her hair sticking out in every direction. "What are you even talking about?"
"You. Jack. Lunch. Today." Avarina said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, leaning against the desk with her arms crossed. "You've been texting this guy nonstop for weeks, but you still haven't met him. This is your chance."
Ere'ana groaned again, dragging herself up to sit cross-legged on the bed. "You say 'date,' but we've literally never even met in person. What if he's, like, a serial killer?"
Avarina laughed. "Yeah, because serial killers love bonding over indie rock playlists. Look, you've been smiling at your phone all summer, and I haven't seen you this happy since… forever. I'm telling you, just go for it."
Ere'ana hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip. She wasn't nervous about meeting Jack exactly, but there was a weird pit in her stomach she couldn't explain. Something about him felt too familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Fine," she finally said, throwing her hands up in defeat. "I'll meet him at lunch. But if he's creepy, I'm blaming you."
Avarina grinned triumphantly. "Perfect! Now get dressed, because if we're late to first period, Mr. Bragg is going to make us write another essay on 'time management.'"
The morning passed in a blur of classes and sarcastic commentary from Ere'ana and Avarina about their teachers. By the time lunch rolled around, Ere'ana was more nervous than she wanted to admit. Her phone buzzed in her pocket as she stood in line at the cafeteria.
Jack: Where do you want to meet?
Ere'ana quickly typed back: Near the windows. Easier to escape if you're weird.
Jack's reply came almost instantly: Fair. Just don't judge me if I trip on the way there.
She chuckled softly, slipping her phone back into her pocket. As much as she was nervous, Jack had a way of putting her at ease.
Across the cafeteria, Jack was leaning against a table, scrolling through his phone as Ira nudged him. "You've got that look," Ira said.
"What look?"
"The 'I'm-meeting-a-girl-I-like' look," Ira teased.
Jack rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress the small smirk tugging at his lips. "It's just lunch. Not a big deal."
"Sure, sure. But if you need backup, I'm only a table away," Ira said with a wink.
Jack ignored him and made his way toward the windows. His heart was beating faster than he'd expected.
Ere'ana spotted him first. He was tall, with broad shoulders and black hair that fell just over his eyes. He carried himself with a quiet confidence that caught her attention immediately.
"Jack?" she called out, waving slightly.
He turned at the sound of her voice, his dark eyes locking onto hers. There was a split second of hesitation before he smiled and walked over.
"You must be Ere'ana," he said, his voice smooth but warm.
"And you must be Jack," she replied, tilting her head as she looked him over. He was handsome—there was no denying that—but there was something oddly familiar about him that made her stomach flip.
They sat down across from each other, the cafeteria buzzing around them.
"So," Ere'ana began, leaning back in her chair, "how's your first day as a senior going?"
Jack shrugged. "Honestly? Pretty shitty. First period, my teacher talked for twenty minutes about how we're not 'kids' anymore and need to take everything seriously. Like, okay, we get it—college is coming."
Ere'ana laughed, nodding. "Ugh, Mr. Bragg said the same thing during first period. He even gave us an essay on time management."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "You have Bragg too? Man, I thought I left his boring lectures behind in freshman year."
"Same! I swear he hasn't updated his PowerPoint slides in, like, ten years."
The two of them exchanged stories about their classes, bonding over shared annoyances. It turned out they had more in common than they'd expected.
"And don't even get me started on the cafeteria food," Jack said, gesturing at the sad-looking slice of pizza on his tray. "I'm pretty sure this used to be cardboard in another life."
Ere'ana laughed so hard she almost choked on her soda. "Right? I feel like we're in some experiment to see how long teenagers can survive on trash."
Jack grinned, leaning forward slightly. "So, what do you do when you're not surviving the horrors of high school?"
"Besides sleeping and procrastinating? I like music. Mostly indie rock and R&B. You?"
"Same," Jack said, nodding. "I play guitar sometimes, but I'm terrible at it. Mostly, I just listen to whatever keeps me sane."
As they talked, the initial awkwardness faded away. They fell into an easy rhythm, sharing stories and laughing about the ridiculousness of their school. Ere'ana couldn't help but feel like she'd known Jack for longer than just a few weeks of texting.
"You're not what I expected," she admitted after a while.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What did you expect?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Someone cocky, maybe? But you're… different. In a good way."
Jack chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll take that as a compliment. You're not bad yourself, you know."
Ere'ana rolled her eyes playfully. "Wow, high praise. Thanks."
They stayed there until the bell rang, reluctantly getting up to head to their next classes.
"See you around?" Jack asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Yeah," Ere'ana said with a small smile. "See you around."
As she walked back to class, Ere'ana couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to Jack. Something just out of reach.
Jack, meanwhile, felt the same. Talking to Ere'ana had been easy—too easy. It was almost like they'd done this before.
Neither of them realized just how right they were.