First message
I lean against the wall outside the school, hands stuffed into my pockets, earbuds in but the music low—just enough to keep my thoughts from getting too loud. The sun’s still warm on my face, the kind of soft spring heat that makes you wish the day would stretch a little longer. I’m early, not that I’d admit it if anyone asked. But I always am when it comes to her.
I glance toward the main doors, watching kids pour out like always—laughing, complaining, already pulling out their phones. None of them are who I’m waiting for. My foot taps to the beat of the song, but really, I’m just trying to kill time. It’s become a routine, this waiting. Familiar. Comfortable. Some days she’s smiling when she walks out, other days she looks like the weight of the world’s on her back—but either way, I’m here. I always will be.
And then I see her. Hair catching the sunlight, backpack slung over one shoulder like it weighs a thousand pounds. That familiar tug in my chest hits me again.
There she is.