Comfort in conformity

Mr. Phillips's monotonous voice droned on in math class, threatening to lull me into a coma. I forced myself to focus, knowing I had to stay on track if I wanted to graduate. I gazed out the window, daydreaming about life after high school, when Mr. Phillips's voice cut through my reverie. "Julian." I didn't respond, too caught up in my thoughts. He called out again, louder this time. I jolted upright, blinking rapidly.

"Sir! You called? Uh, what was the question again?" The class snickered, and I felt a flush rise to my cheeks. Mr. Phillips's expression was stern.

"This is your last year, Julian. Pay attention, or you'll be stuck with me until you're ready to focus."

I whispered under my breath, "No way, Phillips. Not interested in that offer." I turned back to Mr. Phillips, pretending to listen, but my mind began to wander again.

The class eventually ended, and I was left scribbling random notes in my book. Magnus, who was in my class, approached me as we waited for our next class to begin. "Yo, what was the question again?" he teased, chuckling.

I shot him a sarcastic glance. "Haha, yeah, it was funny, wasn't it."

Magnus placed a hand over my notes, a hint of amusement on his face. "Jeez, brother, pay attention in class." He said, shaking his head. "Anyway, I've got this girl I want to talk to, and–" Magnus paused, his gaze fixed intently on me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"What?" I asked, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Are you even listening?" Magnus asked, his eyes narrowing slightly as he settled into the chair behind him.

"Of course. I'm looking at you, aren't I?" I replied, trying to sound convincing.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. "We both know, you could stare at someone without actually paying attention to them."

I smiled weakly, feeling a bit defensive. "That's not true. I heard you... Just go on."

Magnus leaned in, a sly smile spreading across his face. "There's this cute girl who lives next door. She's three years older than me, but she's not always home since she's in university. Still, considering I'll be seeing her soon... I'm winning." He said, clearly pleased with himself.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to process what he'd just said. "Let me get this straight. You have a crush on a senior who's only home during holidays and attends the same university you're applying to?" Magnus nodded, still grinning.

I shook my head, chuckling. "Oh. so this is why you switched schools, huh? These perverts never rest."

Magnus's face turned bright red as he exclaimed, "The f*ck?!" He burst out laughing, trying to defend himself, but our next class began, and he had to retreat to his seat.

After school, I headed to the bleachers with Magnus, Gavin, and Frank. With my headphones on, I was oblivious to the track practice underway. As I went to pick up a ball Gavin threw, I collided with one of the runners. I fell to the ground, groaning in pain. "Jeez. Why are y'all running?"

A voice apologized, offering a hand to help me up. "I'm sorry." I didn't notice the extended hand and got up myself, brushing off my clothes. That's when I saw the girl I walked with in the morning.

"Oh, it's you," I muttered, still dusting myself off. I picked up the ball and turned to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I am," she replied.

I nodded curtly. "K." I realized I didn't know her name so I decided to ask. "Um... I didn't catch your name."

"Really? It's Sapphire. I thought you'd know this considering we're in the same class," she said, clearly confused.

Before I could respond, Magnus walked up to us, his tall frame looming over us. He gave Sapphire a once-over, his expression unreadable.

"Saw you crash. You good, bruh?" he asked, his eyes still fixed on Sapphire.

Sapphire's cheeks flushed as she greeted Magnus. "Hey."

Magnus's tone turned possessive. "Not trying to be rude, but my buddy here isn't looking for a girlfriend, so it'd be good if you... backed off a bit, yeah?"

Sapphire's eyes widened in indignation. "I never said I had any interest in him. You can't just predict–"

Magnus cut her off. "Then why the hell are you always everywhere, huh?"

Sapphire shot back, "Coincidence?"

Magnus's tone turned condescending. "Looks more like stalking to me. You're not just his new neighbor, but you walked with him, and now you bump into him? I'mma make it clear: you're not our type. We're on the normal side of life, and you... well, you're you."

Sapphire's face darkened, her brows furrowing in anger. "Excuse me?! What the hell does that mean?!" she exclaimed, her voice rising.

I stood there, oblivious to the tension, my music still playing in my headphones. I removed them, noticing the heated exchange.

"What's going on?" I asked nonchalantly.

Sapphire shot me a disgusted look and stormed off.

I turned to Magnus. "Um... that was rude. What's with her?"

Magnus shrugged. "I don't know, dude. Whatever, let's get outta here."

I shrugged and followed him, leaving the awkward encounter behind.

As I drew in my yard, I noticed two familiar faces chatting in the distance. "Is that... Gavin... and Sapphire?" I asked myself, surprised. I let out a laugh. "These damn perverts never seem to take a break!"

Gavin and Sapphire noticed me, but only Gavin waved. He parted ways with her, and she lingered, seemingly hesitant to approach me. Gavin strolled up to me, grinning.

"Sup! Drawing as usual? I see you!" he exclaimed.

I smiled awkwardly. "Why are you talking like that?"

Gavin chuckled and shrugged. "Man, I don't know. Did you know Sapphire is actually fun to talk to? Plus, we're all neighbors now."

I raised an eyebrow. "So? Besides, I knew that already... except for the fun part."

"Well, now you know. So, we've got one girl in the group," Gavin said, grinning.

I shook my head, disapproval etched on my face. "Nah, bruh. No additions. We should be preparing to get out of here, not forming some squad."

Gavin looked at me quizzically. "Would it hurt to make new friends?"

I muttered, focusing on my drawing, "No, but I'm not interested."

Gavin shrugged. "Alright, suit yourself. Gotta run, though. Catch you later." He took off, jogging back to Sapphire.

I sighed, wondering why I'd even come outside. Stepping back into my house, I found my sisters, Emily and Sydney, huddled around my laptop, playing a game.

"What the...? Why are you two using my laptop?" I exclaimed, snatching it away.

Emily rolled her eyes. "We were gaming. Isn't it obvious?"

Sydney pleaded, "Please give it back. We were on a roll."

I checked the game, and my eyes widened in horror. They were getting destroyed, and my rank was plummeting.

"You weren't on nothing. You were getting your asses beat! Oh man, I'm screwed. Don't touch my laptop again, punks," I scolded, storming into my room to salvage what was left of my gaming reputation.

"Dimwits. Now I gotta level up again. I need a lock on this thing."

I sat in my darkened room, the soft glow of the screen illuminating my face. The only sound was the gentle hum of my computer. I was fully immersed in the game, my fingers flying across the keyboard.

Just as I was about to make a crucial move, a strange knocking at my window broke the silence. My room was upstairs, far from where a hand could reach. I slowly got up from my chair, my eyes fixed on the window as I approached it.

As I pulled back the curtain, a blood-curdling scream escaped my lips. I jolted backward, my heart racing, as I stared into the eyeless, smiling face of a creature pressed against the windowpane. The scream still echoing in my ears, I stumbled backward, my eyes fixed on the horror outside my window.

But then, the spell was broken. A burst of laughter erupted from below, and I rushed back to the window to see what was going on. That's when I saw them: Magnus and my sisters, holding their bellies in laughter, with the "creature" – now revealed to be a face mask – held up by one of them.

I glared down at them, still trying to process the fear that had gripped me just moments before. "Oh, c'mon! That wasn't funny. I could've died," I snapped, trying to sound stern despite the laughter still echoing up from below.

Magnus looked up at me, a silly grin still plastered on his face. "Don't steal their game, right in the middle of their winning streak," he yelled up, chuckling.

I shook my head, laughing despite myself. "They weren't winning nothing."

****

Sapphire's pov

I sat on my bed texting my friend, Chloe, about my encounter with Magnus earlier: "I don't know why that guy was so rude to me. Waste of good looks."

"Maybe he did it on purpose. You know." She replied.

"I don't know. Why would you hurt someone you don't know on purpose? Makes 0 sense."

"Probably he didn't want you flirting with his friend cuz he likes you. It might be the case.(⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)"

"I wasn't flirting! I knocked the dude off the ground. I was apologizing when Magnus disturbed the chat."

"Don't think much of it. Boys are weird. You never know what they're thinking. I gotta go. TTYL"

"Where you off to?"

"No where important it's just the usual"

"K. Bye then👋🏽"