THE MAFIA KING OF BLACKWOOD HIGH

Episode 2: Morning After

Ava didn't sleep.

She was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, her eyes fixed on that c***k that looked like a lightning bolt. Her little brother Sam always pointed it out when it rained. It was one of those things that usually made her smile, but not tonight. As the hours dragged on, she tried to convince herself that it was all just a bad dream. It was around 3 a.m. when she thought maybe, just maybe, it hadn't really happened. But by 4, the tears started flowing, and she buried her face in her pillow so Sam wouldn't hear her crying through the wall. She didn't want to worry him. As the darkness outside began to fade, she felt a numbness wash over her, a tiredness that was more than just physical. It was like her brain had just shut down, unable to feel anything anymore. By 5, she was just empty, hollow, and exhausted.

At 6:15, her alarm went off, and she got up anyway. Because that's what you did. You got up, and you went to school, even if the last time you were there, you watched a boy shoot a man in a stairwell.

The apartment was filled with the smell of coffee and the sweet, fake scent of her mom's favorite vanilla candle, the one she always lit before heading out to work the night shift. Ava walked into the kitchen to find her mom already dressed in her scrubs, her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her eyes looking red and tired, but not just from lack of sleep - there was something more to it, something that Ava had witnessed and couldn't shake off.

"Rise and shine," she said, her eyes fixed on the toast as she spread a layer of butter on it for his lunch, not even glancing up at him.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Big test?"

Ava almost laughed. Almost. " Something like that."

As Ava headed out the door, her mom gave her a gentle kiss on the top of her head, a familiar morning ritual that had been a constant in her life since she was a little girl. The words that followed were just as familiar: "Be careful out there, baby," her mom said, a habitual phrase that had become a comforting reminder of her love and concern.

Little did she know, Ava's life was about to take a dramatic turn, one that would require her to be extremely cautious.

Ava quickly zipped up Sam's backpack, a habit she'd gotten used to over the years. He was still waking up, his messy hair sticking up in every direction, and his long arms and legs looking like they were all over the place. At twelve years old, he was a bit of a clumsy kid, but Ava loved him anyway. What Sam didn't know was that Ava had been working hard to make sure he had a better life. She had a scholarship, which was a big help, and she also worked three jobs at Rossi's to make extra money. Ava never let herself want anything too much, because she was always thinking about Sam and how she could give him a better future. She did all of this so that Sam wouldn't have to struggle like she did, and so that he could have the opportunities she never had.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sam said, giving her a concerned look. "You seem a bit off, what's wrong?"

"Gee, thanks."

You're as white as a sheet, what's wrong?

Ava tried to sound calm, but it wasn't very convincing. "I'm okay, really," she said, trying to smile. "Just eat your toast, okay?"

---

Everything about Blackwood High seemed frozen in time. The same students were lounging against the same lockers, the same familiar voice was making announcements over the speakers, and the same smell of disinfectant and stale coffee wafted through the air. But despite the sense of normalcy, something felt off. Just twenty-four hours ago, a man had lost his life in the east stairwell, and for one person, the world had been turned upside down. The familiarity of it all only made the contrast more jarring - the same routine, the same faces, but a drastically different reality. It was as if the rest of the world was moving forward, oblivious to the fact that everything had changed. The lockers, the speakers, the smell - it all seemed like a cruel reminder that life goes on, no matter what. And yet, for one person, time had stood still, leaving them to pick up the pieces of a shattered world.

Ava walked quickly, her head down, just like she always did. But now, every hallway seemed to be watching her. She jumped at every little thing - the slam of a locker door, the flicker of a shadow. Even Marco walking by her in the hall made her flinch, like he was trying to pretend yesterday never happened. It was as if she was waiting for something to happen, her senses on high alert all the time. She felt like she was walking around with a big target on her back, and it was making her really nervous. Every noise, every movement, made her think something was off, like someone was lurking just out of sight, waiting to pounce. She just wanted to get through the day without anything else going wrong.

Ava was sitting in the cafeteria when suddenly a tray crashed to the floor. The loud clang of metal on tile made her jump, and for a moment, she was somewhere else. She was back in that stairwell, surrounded by the same smells and sounds that she thought she'd left behind. It was like her brain had taken a step back in time, and her body reacted before she could even process what was happening. Her hands started shaking, and she felt her legs go weak. But as she looked around, she realized that nobody else had even flinched. It was just another day, another dropped tray. People were too caught up in their own conversations to notice her distress. Ava slowly sat down, trying to calm herself down, and she couldn't bring herself to touch her food. The noise had brought back memories she thought she'd buried, and now she was struggling to catch her breath.

She got through the first class, and then the second. By the time the lunch bell rang, she was starting to think that maybe Damian had decided to leave her alone. Maybe whatever he wanted from her wasn't important enough to bother with. Maybe she could just blend back into her normal, quiet life and this whole thing would just go away. She was almost convincing herself that everything was going to be okay, that she could just forget about the whole thing and move on. But a part of her wasn't so sure, a part of her was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Damian to show up and turn her life upside down all over again.

She should have known better.

He stood outside the cafeteria, casually leaning against the wall as if he didn't have a care in the world. It was as if the entire school was subtly shifting around him, unaware of the impact he had on those around him. A group of girls by the vending machines fell silent as he walked by, their eyes fixed on him. Even a teacher nodded in his direction as he passed in the hallway, treating him more like a colleague than a student. There was something about him that commanded respect, or maybe it was just a sense of quiet confidence that made people take notice. Whatever it was, he seemed completely at ease, like he owned the place.

"You're late," Damian said, when Ava reached him.

"Late for what? You said seven a.m. tomorrow."

"He nodded, pushing away from the wall. 'This is just a sneak peek,' he said, his eyes gleaming with a hint of excitement."

Ava's stomach dropped. " I have class."

"He spoke like he was stating a fact, not asking a question. His tone was firm, leaving no room for debate. 'You have five minutes,' he said, the words hanging in the air like a challenge. Then, without waiting for a response, he added, 'Walk with me.'"

She really didn't feel like it, every part of her was screaming to just turn around and stick with what she knew, sitting with the same old crowd, eating her boring lunch, and pretending like her life was still normal, before he came along and turned everything upside down. But let's be real, playing it safe hadn't exactly been working out for her lately, so she decided to take a chance and walk beside him instead.

He took her through a side door and into the courtyard, which was pretty quiet at this time of day. There were just a few kids sitting on benches, listening to music on their headphones, and they didn't even notice them walk by. The courtyard was almost empty, with only a handful of people around, and it felt kind of peaceful.

"Damian spoke up, his tone casual, almost like he was discussing a homework assignment," she said. "He told me, 'I did some reading last night, about you.'"

"Reading."

He gave her a sideways glance. "I know some things about you," he said. "Like your mom, she works nights at St. Agnes hospital. And your brother, he's in seventh grade at Lincoln Middle - his grades are okay, but he's always missing school, even though he's not really sick that often. As for you, you've been working at Rossi's for two years now, and it looks like you're sending half of your paycheck to someone else, because you're still wearing the same three sweaters you had back in September."

Ava's face suddenly felt like it was on fire. "You've been digging into my family's past," she said, her voice low and even, but with a hint of accusation.

He spoke in a flat tone, no hint of remorse or explanation. "I've had you checked out," he said, his words straightforward and unyielding. "I don't let people into my life without being certain how they'll react when things don't go as planned."

"I don't belong in your world, you forced me into this situation."

"Same thing, from where I'm standing."

She stopped walking. He took two more steps before he noticed and turned back, one eyebrow raised, like her stopping was an inconvenience he hadn't planned for.

"You don't get to know all of that about me," Ava said, voice shaking despite herself, "and tell me nothing about you. That's not fair."

A change came over his face, not exactly a softening, but more like a gentle surprise, as if the word *fair* was something he hadn't heard in a long time and wasn't quite sure how to react to it. It was a subtle shift, but it was there, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, like he was trying to remember what it meant to be treated fairly.

"Fair," he repeated.

"Yeah. Fair."

He stared at her a bit longer than he should have. Then, in a tone that was almost a challenge, he said, "Go ahead, ask me anything. I'll give you an honest answer - which is more than I usually give to anyone."

Ava's mind was racing with a million questions - like what really went down with the guy, what her family was all about, how many people had met their end because of them, and if she was next on the list. But instead of asking any of those, she found herself asking something way simpler, yet somehow it felt way more important.

"Do you have any feelings about what happened?" she asked quietly. "I mean, does it affect you at all?"

Damian just stood there, not saying a word. The wind blew gently through the courtyard, and kids were laughing somewhere, but it was like he didn't even notice. Nothing seemed to be getting through to him.

"He spoke up at last, his voice barely above a whisper, so softly that she nearly didn't catch it. 'I feel plenty,' he said, 'I just don't let it hold me back.'"

It wasn't the answer she expected. It wasn't comforting, either. But it was honest, and something about that honesty scared her more than his silence had.

The sound of the bell cut through the air, its faint, metallic tone echoing off the walls of the courtyard.

"Seven o'clock," Damian said, turning to leave, the moment slipping away as quickly as it had begun. "Meet me at the front gates. I don't want to have to track you down twice in one week."

"And if I don't show?"

As he turned to face her, his expression changed in an instant, and the boy who had confessed his feelings just moments before vanished, replaced by the hardened figure she had seen the night before, the one who had wielded a gun with a calm and steady hand.

"He was warning me that our conversation was about to take a dramatic turn, one that would be uncomfortable for me to hear."

He strolled off before she had a chance to respond, his footsteps casual as he crossed the courtyard, as if making that threat had been effortless, like it was nothing to him.

Ava stood there long after he disappeared inside, her sandwich forgotten, her hands still shaking, and thought about the fact that for one strange second out there, she hadn't just been afraid of him.

She'd been curious.

That scared her more than anything he'd said.

---

As she strolled to Rossi's that afternoon, her eyes caught sight of a car that seemed out of place.

Ava noticed a black car parked across from the diner, its engine humming away, even though no one got out. She tried to brush it off, thinking it was just someone waiting for takeout or a friend, but as the hour dragged on and the car remained, her curiosity got the better of her. She caught glimpses of it through the window as she took orders and served customers, and when her shift finally ended, she stepped out into the chilly air, her keys clutched tightly in her fist, a subconscious precaution in case she needed to make a quick escape. The car was still there, its presence now starting to feel more ominous than innocent.

As she arrived at the bus stop, the car pulled away slowly, without any rush, giving the impression it wasn't following her. But she noticed it circle the block and return from the opposite direction. This time, through the darkened windows, she could've sworn someone inside was staring back at her, their eyes fixed on her. The car's slow pace belied its true intentions, and she felt a shiver run down her spine as their gazes seemed to meet.

She didn't sleep well that night either.