NIA’S POV
Three days to go.
I could already feel the shift in the air, that familiar buzz of back-to-school energy creeping into everything. My textbooks were stacked neatly on the coffee table, new notebooks labeled, pens and highlighters organized in a little pouch that I may or may not have color-coded for fun.
The house was quiet, just the soft hum of the washing machine and a lo-fi playlist playing from the speaker in the corner. Alexander had been playing catch-up ever since we got back from our little escape. Meetings, emails, late nights. I missed him but I also understood. Real life doesn’t pause just because you had a magical couple of weeks.
Still, I caught myself glancing at the clock every hour. It was nearing 7 p.m., and I hadn’t gotten my usual “on my way” text. Not
