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Chapter Sixty-Four

Author: Onuorah Linda
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-10 00:51:35

J.J.’s POV

The school lounge was unusually quiet for break time. The buzz of students laughing and chattering outside in the corridors felt miles away, like distant static.

I sat alone on the leather couch, hunched forward, elbows on my knees, staring into my barely touched bottle of soda.

Everything felt wrong.

Carolyn wouldn’t even look at me. Tina was back with a smile too wide and too sweet to trust. And my head was a fog of thoughts I couldn’t untangle.

I took a sip of the soda. It was warm now. Tasteless.

I leaned back and exhaled slowly, my mind drifting toward the same question that haunted me every day since the party:

"Why does it all feel like it's falling apart?"

The lounge door creaked open, and I didn’t bother looking up—until I heard a familiar voice.

“Yo.”

Julius.

I raised my eyes slowly, blinking like I wasn’t sure he was real.

He stepped in, tall and calm as always, his hands in his pockets. Right behind him—

George.

My heart sank. I straightened, unsure if I should
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