The bell rang. Hallways buzzed with chatter, lockers slammed, and footsteps echoed in every direction. But the eye of the storm was Troy.
He stood with the Bubble Crew in the middle of the hallway, their laughter echoing above the noise. Bandages crisscrossed across their faces and limbs like war medals, earned in chaos and victory.
Carter slapped Troy on the back. “Man, the way you flew through that math test, I thought I was hallucinating.”
Emily smirked. “That’s because you were hallucinating. Ms. Everly literally paused time to get your attention.”
Troy chuckled, arms crossed, relaxed. “At least I wasn’t drooling on my desk like Jackson.”
“Hey!” Jackson pointed dramatically. “Bubble Boy has jokes now? What happened to the shy little guy we found hiding in the library, huh?”
“He got replaced by a multiversal badass,” Miguel added, grinning despite the bandage over his brow.