-Raya-
Monday
I woke up with that odd sense of time folding in on itself—like the weekend had blurred into nothing, and I was right back at the beginning again.
Alarm. Stretch. Shower. Tie hair. Breakfast. Pack lunch.
Same motions. Same rhythm. But there was a softness to it today. Maybe it was the memory of the river. Or the quiet weight of Alec’s hoodie still folded on the back of my chair.
The drive to school was just as quiet as always.
He didn’t say much—just handed me the toast I forgot to grab and nodded once when I muttered a sleepy “Thanks.” His eyes stayed on the road, but I caught the flicker of a smirk when I almost dropped my water bottle while trying to juggle everything on my lap.
We got to campus just before the first bell. I joined Irene and Wendy in the hallway, fa
