Eunice
The first week was an agonizing exercise in patience, played out in the quiet spaces of my room.
Every evening after school, I sat on the edge of my mattress with my phone glued to my palm.
I stared at the dark glass screen until the backlight timed out, tapping it back to life every few minutes just to make sure I hadn't missed a chime.
My best friend, Sarah, came over on Thursday.
She sat cross-legged at the foot of my bed, watching me pace back and forth across the floor like a caged animal.
"Eunice, stop," Sarah said gently, gesturing toward my phone.
"You're going to burn a hole through that screen. Put it down."
"He hasn't called, Sarah," I said, my voice rising in a tight, nervous pitch.
"It's been six days. He promised he'd message the second he landed."
"It's f
