Chapter 3

I bought a cup of hot coffee in the airport's waiting lounge. However, just as I put the lid on, someone suddenly thumped me hard on the back of my shoulder. Coffee spilled on my fingers, burning them.

I turned around and saw Bailey and Derek standing behind me.

Bailey's coat was buttoned up wrongly, and her forehead was beaded with sweat. Meanwhile, Derek was still clutching his boarding pass to Beachland, panting so hard that he could barely speak.

"That's enough sulking," Bailey said, taking my coffee from me. After feeling around the cup, she pushed it back into my hands. "At least you bought a hot one. You're not freezing, are you?"

She sounded like she was trying to coax me, signalling that she was done being mad and that she'd put the incident behind her.

"We're not going to Beachland. We missed our boarding time because we were busy looking for you. Now we're even. Come home with me."

Derek finally caught his breath and looked up at me, bracing himself with his hands on his knees.

"Why are you even here at the international airport terminal, Josh? You think you're some main protagonist running away from home or something?"

I looked at Bailey. "How did you know that I was here?"

Her eyes flickered. She explained, "There's a delay when turning off location sharing."

"So, you snooped?"

"It's called being concerned about you," Bailey said, frowning. "Don't make my normal concern for you sound so despicable."

Derek then reached for my check-in backpack. "Let's go. I'll carry this for you. Why is it so bulky? Don't tell me you stuffed it full with winter clothing."

I held my backpack close and warned, "Don't touch it."

He froze for a second, the fawning smile immediately disappearing from his lips. "Why are you being so hostile toward me? It's not like we're enemies."

Bailey lowered her voice. "Joshua, this is the airport. People are watching us. Don't make a scene."

I looked at her.

"You think I'm the one making a scene now?"

Derek suddenly snatched my backpack and snapped, "I don't care! I'm taking your bag and looking through it! Bailey made a bet with me that your backpack was going to be empty. You were just bluffing!"

He yanked it hard, and I instinctively clutched onto it harder. The strap dug into my hand, and the zip tore right open in the struggle.

Seconds later, the bag fell heavily to the floor with a loud thud. The contents inside spilled out, and my laptop fell smack against a sharp marble corner of a pillar.

A dull, gut-wrenching clunk sounded. Then, the screen shattered and the edges of the laptop folded at an angle.

I bent down and touched the shattered screen. Tiny glass shards stabbed right into my fingers.

There was a loud ringing in my ears, and my heart began palpitating at an irregular rhythm. That familiar wave of nausea returned.

I instinctively felt in my pocket for the two backup pills for my panic attacks, but I realized that they'd somehow fallen out during the struggle earlier.

Derek stepped back, his voice weak as he said, "I didn't mean to do it! It was an accident! Who told you to pull at it so hard? And why didn't you secure your laptop better since you knew it was important to you?"

Bailey crouched next to me and reached over to press down on my shoulders.

"Don't panic, Josh. We can get the laptop repaired. There are tons of laptop repair centers around. And if it can't be repaired, I'll just buy you a new one."

I couldn't stop myself from looking up at her.

"Do you even know what's in it?"

She hesitated. "Your artwork drafts. I know they're important."

I didn't just have my artwork drafts on my laptop.

I also had all my original artwork layers that I hadn't yet synced to the cloud, the drafts for the Stargaze Artist Awards that I still wanted to reorganize after being disqualified, and the first draft of my proposal I needed to submit to Professor Dawson during my residency in Northland.

Derek scratched his head in frustration.

"Can you stop looking at me like that, Joshua? You're making me look like I'm your enemy!"

Bailey shielded him behind her again, her expression darkening.

"The laptop's already destroyed. There's no point in you trying to continue scaring him like this. He didn't mean to do it. Are you seriously going to make things awkward for everyone now?"

An announcement was made just then, informing everyone that the delayed flight was boarding soon.

I picked up my damaged laptop, calmed myself down, and stood up. My arms were shaking, but my voice was steady as I said, "Get out of my way."

Bailey's expression changed when she saw me walking toward the rebooking counter.

"You're still planning to leave? Your laptop's already smashed up like this. You need to find a repair shop to retrieve your data first."

"I'm going back home to get my backup hard drive."

Derek looked up at once. "Then, we'll go back with you."

I looked at him and said, "You have no right to step foot into my apartment."

His face turned pale, and he looked embarrassed. Bailey's face darkened immediately.

"You're being very hurtful with your words today, Joshua Abbott."

I didn't answer her. Instead, I gripped my laptop and continued walking slowly toward the rebooking counter.

Professor Dawson's text message popped up on my phone again.

"Do you need me to contact the curator here in Ice City and have her pick you up at the airport? Her last name is Buchanan. She's near the airport now."

I stared at the message for a long time. Ultimately, I replied, "No need for that, Professor. My laptop's broken. I need to retrieve my backup data from home first."

I put my phone away after sending him the message.

Bailey stood behind me, speaking in a low voice.

"He won't bear to leave."

I didn't know if she was talking to Derek or convincing herself of that.