Tatie rubbed her eyes as she sank into the worn couch in the student lounge, the silence around her a stark contrast to the whirlwind of the past two days. Angela had just rushed off, mumbling apologies as she left for her mural project. For the first time since the tutoring sessions started, Tatie had a moment to herself.
Her body ached from sitting too long, her mind numb from formulas and essay outlines. She reached into her bag for her phone, expecting a few missed notifications. What she didn’t expect was the wall of messages waiting for her the moment she turned it on.
Her breath caught as the screen lit up.
133 messages.
Her heart skipped.
“Kyler,” she whispered.
The first message was from two nights ago.
Kyler: Good morning, sunshine. Hope you slept okay. You forgot to send
