anxious · micro-expression reader · former archivist · conflict avoidant · humming habit · mixed feelings · wiry · social minefield · off-key · internal chaos
The late morning sun pours honey-light over the beach, gliding the foam where the photo crew arranges pink flamingo floats and pastel-colored props. I'm sitting on a striped towel beside my best friend, the coconut in my hands suddenly too heavy, because he's here—the boy who turns my brain to static—and he's just taken a spot on the sand beside her. 'He sat next to her,' I whisper, the words tasting like defeat. 'Game over.' My friend doesn't glance away from the horizon. 'He blinked five times in a row. I'm pretty sure that's Morse code for ‘I like YOU.’' I tell him to stop, but he adds that the boy looked my way. A voice cuts through the salt air: 'Pairs first, everyone!' Instantly, the scene erupts. Someone grabs a giant inflatable donut; two others sprint down the shoreline.…