The Birthday Preparation

[ Lila’s POV]Our lunch table has become this weird sacred space. Like, I know I've thought this before, but it's getting more true every day. The four of us sitting together while everyone else at school is doing their own thing. It's become so normal that I don't even think about it anymore—it's just where we belong.Today Kai's stealing my fries. Again. Like, there's a pattern here, and he refuses to break it."You have your own food," I tell him."Your fries are better," he says, mouth full. "Scientifically proven.""That's not how science works," Mason says."That's not how anything works," Ezra adds, but he's smiling.It's Monday lunch, and we're all in this weird space where the festival is close enough to feel real but far enough away that we're not actively panicking. Mason's been talking about his hockey matches. Ezra's been complaining about ice time. Kai's been insufferable about his tennis ranking. And I've been trying not to think about the fact that my birthd

It's My Birthday

[Lila Pov] Wednesday comes faster than I expected. The birthday dinner with my parents is at this upscale restaurant that I don't really like—the food is good but small, and the atmosphere is too formal. My mom looks exhausted, which makes me feel guilty because I know she was supposed to be at this conference but she chose to stay for my birthday. My dad is trying way too hard to be jovial about the whole thing. "So, senior year next year," my dad says, like this is a natural conversation starter. "Have you thought about where you want to apply to college?" I haven't. I've thought about the festival and Kai and my friends and whether I want to keep doing cheerleading next year, but college feels like a thing that belongs to a different version of my life. "Not really," I say. "I'm only a senior and still early so I still have time." "You should be thinking about these things," my mom says, and it's not mean, just factual. "Top schools have early applications." "I know. I'l

The Fall

[Mason Pov]The hockey rink is chaos in the best way possible.We're up 3-2 with two minutes left in the final match of the festival, and I'm so in the zone that I don't even feel my body anymore. It's just instinct. It's just knowing where the puck is going to be before it gets there. It's my stick connecting with the puck and sending it straight past the goalie into the net.We won. The entire arena erupts. My teammates are swarming me, jumping on top of me, screaming. The coach is yelling something I can't hear over the noise. The crowd is going insane. This is the moment. This is what we've been training for.I'm scanning the stands and I see Ezra on his feet, cheering like his voice is going to give out. Lila's jumping up and down next to him. Kai's got his phone out like he's recording, which is probably going to be some terrible video he'll torture me with later.They won their events too. Ezra placed second in figure skating—which he's upset about but shouldn't be. Lil

All Chapters of Edges Of Us: Chapter 31 - Chapter 33

The Birthday Preparation

It's My Birthday

The Fall