Angelo woke up to the sound of arguing. Again.
He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, debating whether it was worth getting up or letting them sort it out. Eventually, the noise became unbearable. With a heavy sigh, he dragged himself out of bed.
As expected, Annabel and Emmanuel were at it again.
"I swear, you don't do anything but cause trouble!" Annabel snapped, arms crossed.
"And you don't do anything but complain!" Emmanuel shot back.
At the dining table, Cordelia sat with a cup of tea, watching the chaos with the detachment of someone who had seen this episode too many times. She glanced at Angelo as he entered.
"Morning. If you're here to stop them, don't bother."
"Noted." He yawned, grabbed a piece of bread, and took a bite. "So, what's today's argument about?"
"He ate the last yogurt," Annabel huffed.
Angelo turned to Emmanuel. "Did you?"
"Yeah," Emmanuel admitted shamelessly.
"And?"
"And it was delicious."
Angelo snorted. "Alright, that's fair."
Annabel groaned. "You guys are impossible."
Cordelia shook her head. "Hurry up and eat, Angelo. Your class starts soon."
He groaned. "Right. Studying. My favorite activity."
---
At the tutorial center, Angelo barely kept his eyes open.
"You know," Jade nudged him, "you're going to fail if you keep this up."
"I'm not that bad."
"You tried to write an essay about law but ended up listing video game mechanics instead."
Angelo blinked. "That actually happened?"
Jade slid his notebook toward him. "See for yourself."
He looked down.
'The judicial system functions much like a turn-based RPG, where each party must wait their turn to attack before delivering a final verdict.'
"...Okay, but tell me that doesn't make sense," Angelo muttered.
Jade smacked his arm. "It does not make sense."
JJ and Eli chuckled from across the table.
"You need sleep," JJ said.
"And a proper study plan," Eli added.
Angelo sighed. "You guys worry too much. I have a system."
JJ raised an eyebrow. "What system?"
"I wing it until something works."
Eli groaned. "We're all doomed."
---
That evening, Angelo sat in his room, staring at the wall.
Something felt off.
Like there was a gap in his thoughts, a space where something—no, someone—should be.
He pulled out an old photo album, flipping through the pages. There was one with Annabel as a toddler, looking smug while stealing his toy. Another with Emmanuel as a baby, crying loudly while Angelo stared in exhausted defeat. And another with Gift, back when she was still a chubby little toddler sitting in their dad's arms.
But something was wrong.
Some photos had empty spaces. Gaps where it felt like someone should have been.
A flicker of a headache throbbed behind his eyes.
Maybe I'm overthinking things.
A voice echoed in his mind.
"No, you're not."
His chest tightened.
He slammed the album shut and shoved it under his bed.
---
The next day, exhaustion clung to him like a second skin.
"You good?" Jade asked as they walked home from class.
"Yeah. Just a weird night."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
Jade didn't look convinced, but she let it go.
They reached the street where they usually split ways. Before leaving, she gave him a look. "Try not to sleep through class tomorrow."
"I make no promises."
She rolled her eyes and walked off.
Angelo sighed, heading toward his house.
And for a brief second, as he passed an empty street corner—
—he saw someone standing there.
Watching him.
A girl, maybe. Or a boy. The figure was blurred, their features slipping from his memory the second he blinked.
He turned back.
Nothing.
Just the wind.
A shiver ran down his spine.
Something wasn't right.