Luna's Descent

Exhausted

Ruby slumped into her seat after the math test, utterly drained. She rubbed her temples, replaying the questions in her head. "May God help me with the gibberish I wrote," she muttered, shaking her head. The test had felt more like a battle than an exam, and she wasn’t confident she’d won.

She pulled out her phone again, hoping for a distraction. Lunchtime couldn’t have come at a better time—she needed the break. Her fingers tapped against the screen, and she sent Jeremy a quick text:

Hey babe, how's it going? Haven’t heard from you today.

Ruby stared at the screen, waiting for the "typing..." bubble to pop up. But nothing happened. She sighed and tucked her phone into her pocket, thinking he was probably busy. Still, something felt off. It wasn’t like Jeremy to go this long without a response. She tried to shake the unease, heading to the cafeteria to grab a quick lunch before her next class.

She grabbed a tray of food and made her way to her favorite spot—a large, old oak tree on the edge of campus. It was far from the cafeteria noise and chaos, a peaceful place where she could think and clear her head. As she sat down under the tree, the sun filtering through the branches, she took a deep breath. The quiet was nice. She opened her phone again, just in case Jeremy had replied, but still nothing.

Ruby wasn’t the type to worry over nothing, but today felt different. After about ten minutes, she gave in and decided to call him. She dialed his number and put the phone to her ear, listening to the familiar ring. It felt like forever before Jeremy finally picked up.

"Hey babe," she started, relieved to hear his voice.

"Babe, can I talk to you later?" Jeremy’s voice sounded distant, and before she could respond, he added, "I’m in the middle of something." Then, just like that, he hung up.

Ruby stared at her phone in disbelief. "What the heck?" she muttered. First, he didn’t reply to her text, and now he barely spoke before cutting her off. What was going on with him today? She shook her head, trying to brush it off, but it still nagged at her. She sent him one more text, hoping to get something from him later.

Okay, talk to you later, I guess.

Ruby sighed and took a bite of her sandwich. She wasn’t the kind of person who liked to assume the worst, but something about Jeremy’s behavior today made her uneasy. She tried to focus on her food, hoping the break would calm her nerves, but her phone buzzed again before she could even take another bite.

It wasn’t Jeremy this time. It was Mrs. Wright—Mitchell’s mom. Ruby answered immediately.

"Hii Ruby, good afternoon," Mrs. Wright’s familiar voice greeted her.

"Good afternoon, ma," Ruby responded, trying to keep her tone light.

"How’s your day going? Listen, I need you to help me check up on Mitchell. She told me she wasn’t feeling well earlier, but I’m at work and can’t check on her myself," Mrs. Wright explained.

Ruby hesitated. "But—" she started, wanting to tell Mrs. Wright that Mitchell had mentioned going out with her later. But before she could even get the words out, Mrs. Wright spoke again.

"Thanks so much, Ruby. I knew I could count on you," she said, her tone rushed. Before Ruby could reply, Mrs. Wright hung up.

Ruby sighed, dropping her phone into her lap. "What's with everyone and hanging up on me today?" she muttered. First Jeremy, now Mrs. Wright. It seemed like no one wanted to finish a conversation with her today.

She thought about what Mrs. Wright had said. Mitchell had told her earlier that she was going out with her mom. But clearly, Mrs. Wright didn’t know anything about that. Ruby frowned, feeling a bit unsettled. Why would Mitchell lie? Was she hiding something? Ruby shook her head, trying to push away her suspicions. She’d just have to check on Mitchell after school and see what was going on.

For now, Ruby decided to enjoy what was left of her lunch break. She finished her sandwich in silence, occasionally glancing around the quiet campus. The gentle rustle of the leaves in the tree overhead and the soft chirping of birds was comforting. Ruby felt herself relax just a little.

After finishing her food, she spotted a small stone by her foot. She picked it up, feeling a little mischievous. There was a pond nearby, and Ruby often liked to skip stones across it when she had some time to kill. She aimed the stone carefully, flicking her wrist to send it flying.

To her surprise, the stone sailed far across the grass, completely missing the pond. Ruby blinked in shock. "What the—?" she murmured, staring at the stone in the distance. For a moment, she wondered if she’d somehow gained superhuman strength. Laughing at herself, she picked up another stone and tried again. This time, the stone skipped neatly across the pond, creating small ripples in the water.

"Omg, I was scared that I suddenly had super hands," Ruby chuckled to herself, feeling a little silly for her earlier reaction. She brushed the dust off her jeans and grabbed her things. It was almost time for her next class, and she didn’t want to be late.

As she walked across campus, heading toward the main building, Ruby’s mind wandered back to the strange events of the day. Jeremy’s weird behavior, Mitchell’s odd lie, and Mrs. Wright’s call—it all felt like puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit together. Ruby couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. She just didn’t know what yet.

"I’ll figure it out later," she muttered to herself. For now, she had to focus on her classes. Hopefully, by the end of the day, everything would make more sense. God I'm exhausted she said to herself dragging herself slowly to her next class.