Episode 6: Signs of Drift
339 Words
Ethan’s phone buzzed against the wooden desk, interrupting his focus. He glanced at the screen—Sophia: Meet me at the quad?
He hesitated. The engineering assignment he was working on was due the next day, and he was only halfway through. But the thought of Sophia’s laughter and the ease she brought to his life tempted him. With a sigh, he closed his notebook and grabbed his jacket.
The quad was alive with students lounging on the grass, playing music, and enjoying the late afternoon sun. Sophia sat cross-legged near a fountain, sketchbook in hand, her brows furrowed in concentration.
“You’re late,” she teased without looking up as Ethan approached.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” he shot back, sitting beside her.
Sophia grinned, flipping her sketchbook around to show him a rough pencil drawing. “What do you think?”
The sketch was of a boy standing under a jacaranda tree, his face shadowed but his posture strong. Ethan’s breath caught—there was no mistaking the resemblance.
“Is that supposed to be me?” he asked, half-smiling.
“Maybe,” Sophia replied coyly. “You’re an interesting subject.”
Ethan’s cheeks warmed, but before he could respond, Sophia leaned closer. “Ethan, you think too much. Just... be.”
Her words were intoxicating, and for a moment, Ethan felt the weight of his responsibilities slip away.
But later that night, as he sat in his dorm, staring at the untouched assignment on his desk, the consequences of his choices began to sink in. Deadlines were piling up, his once-perfect attendance was slipping, and the resolve that had brought him to university seemed to waver.
Kevin glanced at him from across the room. “You good, man? You’ve been zoning out a lot lately.”
“I’m fine,” Ethan lied.
But deep down, he knew he was at a crossroads. The life he had built for himself—and the future his family dreamed of—was beginning to drift out of reach.
- Writer
