ADRIAN

The walk to the cafeteria is usually something I look forward to. Food, noise, people. But today? Today, I feel like I’m stuck between two ticking time bombs.

Iris walks on my right, Daisy on my left. Neither of them has said a word to the other since we left class. Their silence isn’t the peaceful kind, it’s suffocating. Thick. Heavy. Like I’m stuck breathing through cement.

I clear my throat. Loudly. No one reacts. I slow down, stopping right in the middle of the hallway. They both pause, glancing at me but not at each other.

“Alright,” I say, crossing my arms. “What’s going on?”

They speak at...