I walked down the halls of the second floor, scanning the doors for room 217. The only catch was, I couldn't find it.

I turned the corner for what felt like the hundredth time, passing by the cafeteria doors. Luckily, the bell had rung ten minutes ago, leaving behind the empty halls, which I was appreciative of. Then again, I couldn't help but feel increasingly embarrassed every time I passed by the caretaker, who was busy mopping the floors. The first few times, he didn't seem to care about my presence, let alone acknowledge me. But after the fifth or sixth time, I could feel his looks of confusion boring into the back of my skull. And that only made me feel stupider.

"Over here, Vince!"

I whipped my head around, finding Jason peering out from the cafeteria doors. I walked towards him, not even bothering to shield the look confusion washing over my face.

"Since when was the cafeteria room 217?" I asked, earning a chuckle from Jason. With a cheerful smile, he pulled the doors open, beckoning for me to enter.

"Well, not exactly."

An overwhelming silence greeted me as I took a step through the doors. The benches and tables were all folded up, propped up against the four walls of the room. A massive lot sat in the middle of the lunchroom where the tables were supposed to be, exposing the awfully animated cartoon of our school's mascot, painted over the tiled floor. Given the duration that it had been there for, it was chipped beyond repair, with diagonal slashes cutting through its wide bird beak smile.

"Room 217 is over here."

Before I could further question Jason, he went ahead of me, jogging over to the back of the Caf to the kitchen. Although a little skeptical, I obediently followed, watching as he slipped a tiny silver key from the front pocket of his black skinny jeans. He fiddled around with the lock for a few moments before finally pushing open the door. There, around a small table by the refrigerators, assembled the members of the Newspaper Committee, some staring up at me in a mix of confusion and surprise.

The room was filled with friendly chatter, the complete opposite of what I had in mind. In fact, I was expecting this meeting to be more like one that you would find in corporate business, but I guess I was mistaken. The opened bags of Hot Cheetos and boxes of Timbits spilling over the tabletop didn't seem to serve them justice in terms of professionalism anyways.

"You could've just knocked dumbass," Georgia remarked, her lips curled into a taunting smirk. Jason retaliated with a sarcastic smile, reaching over to grab a couple of Hot Cheetos from one of the open bags.

Unsure as what to do, my eyes darted around the room, finally landing on Tyler, who was busy with whatever was on the screen of his camera. I made my way towards him, feeling the gazes of what felt like a hundred eyes piercing through me. It made me feel like I was bait of some sort, willingly sacrificing myself to eager predators ready to pounce at any given moment. The overwhelming silence fell flat not too long after, as the members of the committee began chatting among themselves, ignoring my presence entirely, Tyler included. He didn't even bother looking up as I tucked my chair in beside him. Instead, he leaned over to the side, the squinted gaze of his blue-green eyes never leaving his camera.

Deciding not to bother him for the time being, I reached over to the open box in front of me, nibbling on a chocolate Timbit for the time being. At the corner of my eye, I caught the attention of Georgia. Her typical icy glare seemed to thaw out, unveiling an underlying warmth beneath her pale blue eyes.

"Care for a Cheeto?" she offered, tipping the bag towards me. Her words slid slowly from her lips as if each word was selected with care.

"Uh, thanks."

I popped a Hot Cheeto in my mouth, letting the crunch of the chip mask the lack of words perching over the edge of my tongue. Georgia munched on some chips herself, mimicking my strategy.

"So, um, when's the meeting starting?" I asked, wanting to be rid of the awkward bubble surrounding us. It had been a while since Georgia and I had a one-on-one conversation, and even that didn't turn out as well as I'd liked.

Georgia lowered her gaze to the jet black glaze painted over her fingernails, letting her fingers run over the shiny layer of polish.

"In a bit," she replied, tossing the bag of chips on to the tabletop in front of her. The plastic let out a little crinkle before Georgia spoke up once more. "We're just waiting on a special guest."

As if on cue, a couple of gentle raps rang through the air, loud enough to send a ripple of silence through the once noisy room. One of the members sitting closest to the door jumped to his feet, leaning over to open the door before proceeding back to work on his laptop. And I swear, the moment I saw those caramel curls peek through the doorway, I was ready to leave the meeting myself.

"Sorry I'm a little late," she muttered, taking note of my presence. I could feel her eyes surveying me as she pulled up a foldable chair to the other end of the table. In my peripheral vision, I watched as Tyler flinched at her movements, his gaze never leaving his camera.

"Your call Georgia," Jason muttered, suddenly taking on an awkward stance as he shifted over to the side. Georgia merely nodded her head, pulling her chair in closer to the table. She let out a profound sigh as she tapped her nails against the tabletop, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. A wave of silence fell upon the air over the room as all heads turned to face her.

"For starters," she announced, her gaze wandering from one end of the room to the next. "Before I forget, Austin and Nita brought in the snacks today, so don't forget to say thanks on the way out."

A couple of applauds rang out within the circle, alongside some playful cheers and "thanks".

"Anyways," Georgia started again, taking a deep breath. She let out a long sigh, her pale blue eyes darting towards Jason as if she was seeking approval of some sort. Jason nodded her on without hesitation, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I know all of you've heard of the recent vandalism on the lockers of one of our freshmen, Wren Eden Burnette."

Subconsciously, my gaze flicked towards Angelese. She lowered her head as she fidgeted with the bridge of her glasses, her eyes glued to her lap.

"And I know all of you have noticed that the articles you've written about this incident have been rejected by me."

Again, Georgia let out a light sigh, as a tense silence began wrapping around the room. A few faces turned in silent annoyance, eyebrows raised as words of protest dripped from their lips.

"Anyways," Georgia started again, folding her arms across her chest. Through her almost deadpan poker-face, a flare of anger lit up in her eyes as she cocked her head to the side. She straightened her back, staring forwards as if a blast of confidence burst through her. "I'm going to stop stalling, so let's just address the elephant in the room shall we?"

Finally lifting his head from his camera, Tyler rubbed his neck, turning to face Georgia head-on. She cast him a sideways glance before continuing to speak once more, turning to face Angelese this time.

"Although it may come off as a shock to some of you, I would never go as far as telling anyone to kill themselves. That's bullshit, and I don't think promoting it through our newspaper makes it any better. Telling other people to kill themselves is the shittiest move anyone could pull, and to top that off with vandalism, that's just fucked-up."

It was practically as if Angelese had a pre-planned reaction in mind. She dipped her head slightly in agreement, furrowed her brows and continued to look Georgia straight in her eyes as if she wasn't plastering a look of innocence over her face.

"According to what I've heard from sources, there's someone sitting in this room who supports that type of bullshit. To that person, you're no longer welcome here."

A wave of confusion washed through the room, following a surge of subtle whispers and murmurs. Amid the commotion, Angelese's mask finally shattered, as she cast a wary glance in my direction, her lips upturned slightly into a disapproving frown.

The funny thing was, besides telling Wren about her, I didn't recall saying a word to Georgia.

At the corner of my peripheral vision, I could still see Georgia staring straight at Angelese. But as time went on, and Angelese continued to nod her head and plead innocence, Georgia's gaze began to narrow. Jason's face twisted into a look of frustration as he noted their interaction, stealing a brief glance towards Tyler, who displayed no evident response to anything going on.

"Stop playing the victim card," Georgia stated, glaring daggers into Angelese, "And leave."

For a split second, a flash of guilt glazed over Angelese's expression. But just as quickly as it had come, it disappeared, replaced with a look of surprise.

"Leave," Georgia repeated, her eyes lit up in rage. Her words were firm as she held eye contact with Angelese, causing a tense silence to fall upon the room.

For a few moments, no one dared to speak. Eyes wandered about the room, tracing Georgia's stern words back to the nervous gaze of Angelese. That was when it all clicked. Some were able to suppress the shock and confusion clouding their minds, but others, not so much. Still, Angelese stayed rooted to the spot, as her look of surprise twisted into an expression of unease.

"You're fully aware of what you've done aren't you?" Georgia asked, her gaze never faltering.

It seemed as if the layers hiding Angelese's true nature began to shrivel, peeling back to unveil a burst of frustration erupting through her light green eyes. She was fully aware of the faces watching her, but even that didn't stop her from dropping her act entirely.

"How am I any different from you?" she spat, her brows furrowing in rage. "You've been ruining people's lives with this stupid newspaper, so why should you have a say in any of this?"

For a split second, Georgia looked taken aback at her words, her eyes widening ever so slightly before she returned to her usual stance.

"Someone already helped me realize this newspaper is wrong, and I want to change that. The first step to doing that is for you to leave."

Angelese sputtered angrily in retaliation, but none of her words were able to construct a proper sentence. But before she could, Georgia spoke up once more.

"You've crossed the line Angelese. There's nothing more that you could say."

Having nearly given up, Angelese dipped her head, shooting up from her chair.

"I'm not the only one who's at fault here!" Angelese cried out in sudden desperation, "Tyler was with me the entire time! He's the one who took that photo of Jason! Why am I taking the blame for him?"

Her eyes brimmed with tears of frustration as she turned towards Tyler, her eyes pleading for words of defence. Instead, he stayed silent, averting his gaze.

"Tyler already told me. I know what he did, and he apologized for it. But we're not talking about Tyler here, we're talking about you."

In a final act of desperation, Angelese looked around her, silently begging for someone to speak up for her. Her pale green eyes wandered around the room, frantically landing on all the people who once trusted her; the members of the newspaper committee, Jason, Tyler, Georgia, and finally, me. All the people whose faith for her couldn't be restored for a while.

"Guys," she pleaded, looking defeated. "We're friends, and we've known each other for so long you can't-"

"Wren is our friend too."

Tyler lifted his head as he spoke, meeting Angelese's despairing gaze. His blank expression shifted into a look of irritation, reflecting the harsh tone of his words.

"You've done all this Angelese and for what? You've scarred Wren, managed to humiliate Jason, ruined Georgia's friendship with Jason for a while and pinned all the blame and stress on Vince. What did you think you would get out of this?"

Angelese stayed silent for a long second, her mouth ajar.

"Says the person who helped me create this mess!" she cried, a flood of tears suddenly flowing from her eyes. They gathered in a small blob above the rim of her glasses before slipping down her cheeks.

"I only helped you because I cared about you! How was I supposed to know you would bring things this far!"

"If you really cared about me, you would help me through this!" Angelese hissed, her knuckles nearly white as she clenched the backrest of her chair. "You're one of my only friends who I trusted would support me no matter what!"

Tyler let out a sigh at her declaration, as the room came to a standstill.

"Then I guess we're not friends anymore."

At a loss for words, Angelese simply stared back at him, her eyes wide in disbelief.

Everyone in the room seemed to share her emotions of shock, sitting motionless through the sound of silence.

Shoving her chair beneath the table, Angelese stormed out the room, slamming the door behind her.

***

"Hey, Vince!"

I turned my head, watching as a small figure grew towards me.

"Oh, hey," I said casually, letting Tyler catch up to me. His rushed footsteps left tracks on the plain sheet of snow covering the sidewalk, parallel to mine. "You're headed this way as well?"

He took another moment to catch his breath before opening his mouth to respond. Panting, Tyler peeled back his hood, exposing the look of regret glazed over his blue-green eyes. His breaths escaped from his in short puffs, hanging still for a moment before disappearing in the winter air.

"No," he puffed, regaining his composure, "No, I'm not."

I raised my eyebrow at him, a look of confusion crawling over my face.

"Alright," I replied, nodding my head. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

But before I could continue on my way, Tyler gave me a quick shove in the shoulder. Instinctively, I lifted a hand out of my pocket, but the moment the frigid air met my skin, I shoved it back inside. It wasn't that Tyler's jab was powerful enough to hurt, it was more so a call for attention. Effective, nonetheless.

"Dude, I didn't just run all the way here to say hello," he declared, furrowing his brows. "This is from Wren."

Hastily, he reached into his camera bag, handing me a little slip of heavily folded line paper. I took it without hesitation, feeling the shadow of a smile dance over my lips.

I suppose this "note" system of hers wasn't out of the norm at all.

"Thanks," I muttered, clenching the scrap of crumpled up paper in the palm of my hand. "I guess I'll see you later then."

Once more, I turned my back to Tyler, only to be interrupted by the sound of his voice. This time, I turned completely, meeting Tyler's gaze. A solemn shadow washed over his expression, as his lips straightened in a thin line, unmasking his unease.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what I did." He ran a hand through his head of dirty-blonde hair, before anxiously stuffing them into the pockets of his coat. "That was really messed-up of me to leave you to suffer after what I did to Jason."

"It's alright," I assured him, tilting my head to the side. "I appreciate that you're apologizing in the first place."

Almost as if someone flipped a switch inside of him, slowly, the cloud of glumness surrounding his face lifted, revealing a look of uncertainty.

"Actually?"

"Yeah."

"Well, uh, thanks man."

For a brief moment, neither of us spoke, the sound of branches rustling in the brisk breeze the sole thing keeping the silence away.

"Did you talk to Jason?" I finally asked, watching as Tyler nodded his head. He averted his gaze for a moment before meeting my eyes once more.

"Yeah," he replied, dipping his head farther beneath the tip of his coat. "He was a little upset at first, but he said he'll get over it after some time."

"Fair," I responded rather awkwardly, kicking at the snow by my boots. "So I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah, see you."

Bidding each other brief farewells, we split into opposite directions of the sidewalk. I slid the thin sheet of paper from my pocket, feeling the pointy tips prick against my skin. The frosty air wrapped around my bare hands in a matter of seconds, leaving my fingers numb from the cold. Slowly I peeled back the little folds, coming along with a small rectangular sheet of lined paper, its rugged edges lined with paper fuzz.

SEE YOU AT ELEVEN?

- 🍒