"You love me."
"I tolerate you. There's a difference."
"You cried when I went away to hockey camp for two weeks."
"I didnot."
"You absolutely did. Your mom sent my mom pictures. I have receipts."
Sage's cheeks flush a furious red.
"Those pictures were doctored. Fake news. Slander."
"Sure, babe."
"Don't 'babe' me, Nakamura. I will end you."
Watching them go at each other is like watching a ping-pong match. Fast. Ruthless. Weirdly entertaining.
And familiar.
Fuck, it's so familiar. Why am I basically having memory loss of my childhood? Do I need to start journaling again?
This is what I lost when Sage disappeared.
Not just a best friend, but the easy camaraderie.
The comfortable chaos of having people who knew you before you became whoever you're pretending to be now.
Miss Phillip clears her throat pointedly.
"As delightful as this reunion clearly is," she says, her voice laced with gentle sarcasm, "I do need to take Ms. Rose to finalize her paperwork. The administrative office closes in an hour, and I'd prefer not to have her wait until tomorrow."
Sage deflates slightly. "Right. Yeah. Sorry."
"Can we wait?" Jace asks, his teasing demeanor softening into genuine interest. "Outside the office, I mean. We wanted to catch up with MaeMae here, and we haven't eaten lunch yet."
Miss Phillip considers this for a moment, then nods.
"That would be perfectly acceptable. The administrative office is in the east wing, third door on the left. There are benches outside where you can wait if you wish."
"Perfect." Sage turns to me, her green eyes bright with something that looks like hope. "Is that okay with you, Mae? We can catch up after you're done with all the boring official stuff. Get some food. Talk about everything that's happened since..." She trails off, guilt flickering across her features. "...since I disappeared."
My stomach chooses that exact moment to announce its presence.
And by 'announce,' I mean it lets out a growl so loud and ferocious that it sounds like a small animal is dying inside my abdomen.
The hallway goes silent.
All three of them stare at me.
Oh, great. Perfect. Add 'embarrassing bodily functions' to the list of humiliations today.
I can feel my face turning approximately the color of a fire hydrant.
Jace is the first to break.
A snicker escapes him, quickly stifled behind his hand when Sage whirls on him with murder in her eyes.
