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Lines in the Sand

Penulis: Haven
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-08-22 13:07:20

The air in the room was filled with the faint smell of chalk and burned coffee, something that always made my stomach feel weird. I slid into my window seat and put my notebook out like I could possibly even use it, though my hand was too jittery to get a pen to even hold steady.

The room was full of cacophony of sound... creaking chairs, a person laughing too hard in the back, sneakers squeaking on the tile floor. But none of it came through to me right. Everything was muffled, distorted, like I was listening to it underwater.

I flashed a glance at the door even though the bell had already rung, expecting the figure of Darren to come in there, dragging the whole room behind him. When he did come in, late as always, my chest drew tight. He didn't look at me at first. Didn't need to. His presence was enough.

I leaned farther back in my seat, pretending to copy the title on the board, although the letters blurred together. My fingers were gripping the edge of the notebook just to stay s
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  • The Quarry Boy   Behind Closed Doors

    When the final bell rang, my nerves were worn thin. Those words before... Darren's smile, Eli's tone, that seemingly impossible Maybe I have—spun around my head until they were all tangled up so densely I couldn't untangle them.I stuffed my books into my bag and hastened towards the doors as fast as I could, hoping the outside air would jolt my head clear.But as soon as I left the stairs, I heard him."Caleb."I came to an instant stop. Of course he was there...Eli, leaning against the railing as if he'd been waiting in the first place."You're not walking alone today," he said. No hesitation. He fell into step beside me before I could complain, his hands deep in his coat pockets, pace unruffled like the whole world bent to his stride.The street continued before me, known and cracked. Houses huddled together, chain-link fences sagging with rust, children screaming a few blocks away. My world.. not big enough, not new.Beside me, Eli was silent. But it wasn't a silence of ignorance.

  • The Quarry Boy   Restless Night

    Dinner was chaos, as it always was. My brother tapped his fork on the table until Mom shouted at him. My sister just flipped through her phone, oblivious to everything. Dad complained about yet another night in the plant, staring glassy-eyed at the TV across the room.The comforting roar filled the house, bouncing off the walls. It typically enveloped me. Tonight, though, it was like it was happening a mile away.I sat there watching my plate get cold in front of me, nodding when Mom asked if I'd done my homework, uttering a "yeah" she wasn't serious about but didn't ask me about. None of it made sense.All I could do was think about Eli.The weight of his shoulder on mine. The heat of his voice when he said Maybe I like being here. The way he looked at me...silent, unflinching... like he was asking me to see it for what it was.I poked my fork into the potatoes, barely paying attention to the flavor. All sounds in the room became indistinct, overshadowed by the thumping in my head.I

  • The Quarry Boy   Crossing the Line

    I barely slept at all.When I did, it was the kind of half-sleep where every sound made me wide-awake again...the pipes groaning, a dog barking down the street, my brother stirring in the room next door. And every time I let my eyelids fall, I saw Eli standing under the streetlamp across the street, hands jammed into his pockets as if he had all eternity.By the time my alarm clock went off, my head was fuzzy and my body felt heavy, but my chest was revved, whirring like I'd consumed three cups of coffee.At breakfast, Mom glared at me across the table. "You look pale.""I'm fine." My voice was creaky."You sick?""I told you, I'm fine." I dug into my cereal, attempting to make it the most engrossing thing in the room.My little brother smirked. “Maybe he’s got a girlfriend.”Heat shot up my neck. “Shut up.”Mom gave him a sharp look, but the damage was done. He grinned wider, drumming his spoon on the table like it was his victory song.My sister didn’t even look up from her phone. “

  • The Quarry Boy   Too Close

    The hallway was cacophony of noise and human form, the path between classes a wave I was constantly being shoved into. My locker jammed on the second try, and my fingers wouldn't stop trembling as I jammed books in.I lied to myself it was adrenaline. but I knew it wasn't that.Because even above the hums, the clang of lockers, the squeak of sneakers on tile...I heard him.Darren's voice."Quarry Boy."The name sliced sharply through all the other noise, low but sharp enough to hit direct under my skin. My shoulders went hard before I'd even turned.He leaned against the lockers a few feet away, arms crossed, that sloppy grin on his face. As if he'd been waiting. Like this was his place.I gripped the lip of my locker door, trying to calm my breathing. My heart pounded too hard in my ears, drowning out the chaos around us.Then, before Darren could move another inch closer, I felt him...someone next to me.Eli.He slid in so effortlessly it was almost careless, shoulder grazing mine a

  • The Quarry Boy   The Substitute

    The room buzzed before the bell even fell silent. Students leaned forward in their seats, their pitches higher than usual, some tossing wadded paper down the aisles. The substitute teacher stood at the front of the room on the lip of the desk, smiling like she was aware of the punch line."Okay, you know the routine," she said, sweeping a hand indifferently across the chalkboard where some half-hearted scribbles of chalk had been left. "Just. read the chapter and read the questions at the end. Easy day."Easy for her.To me, the room had lost its walls, sound pouring all over. No safety, no order. The normal teacher would've had eyes on every corner, but not this one? She was already scrolling her phone.I shifted down in my seat, trying to become invisible behind my book.That was when I realized the shift... Darren sliding into the chair behind me. Close enough that I could hear the scratch of his chair, the whispered scent of his cologne. My stomach was tightening up.And seated ju

  • The Quarry Boy   In Between

    By the time we'd reached the row of lockers, my palms were wet. I wiped them on my jeans before I grabbed for the dial, but it was too late—the metal slipped out from under my fingers, every click too loud in my ears.I said the combination out loud, turning slowly. Once. Twice. Three times. The lock stuck anyway."Damn it," I muttered, pulling too hard. The handle rattled but wouldn't budge."You're rushing it."Eli's voice behind me. He was leaning against the locker to my left, foot anchored on the bottom, books cradled in his hand. Cool. Unruffled. Like the pack bedlam skimmed him.I glared at him, my chest still buzzing from the glimpse of Darren a second ago. "I'm fine."His eyebrow twitched. That was it. No sermon, no mocking. Just a small, inscrutable tilt, as though he didn't think so but wasn't going to push...yet.I stood in front of the lock again, forcing myself to breathe deeper, to count the clicks. It opened this time, creaking wildly. Relief stuck hard, but my hands w

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