ZOEY SAT DOWN, her backpack slung over her shoulder—concealing not just her school materials, but also her flute. she had planned to practice the flute later with ddot because she was scheduled to perform the next day.
"yo zo, send our playlist to me," ddot muttered while pulling out his phone.
zoey nodded silently, her gaze fixed on her hands as she reached into the pocket of her cozy pink sweater. retrieving her phone she felt the weight of the stolen chain pressing against her fingertips since it was also in her pocket.
zoey had planned on just getting everything over with and to come clean, telling ddot that she she had the chain. but she wasn't gonna tell him she stole it.
no, why would she do that? she was gonna say she found it on the floor outside of the gym, it would save her less stress and guilt anyway.
but something in the back of her mind was telling her that she was not gonna go thought with the plan. zoey was good at lying but with ddot it felt like she couldn't lie—he always sees right through her.
zoey's fingers hovered hesitantly over the screen as she contemplated the timing of her confession. should she bare her soul now, risking their friendship or wait for the perfect moment?
zoey was now just thinking about how everything might come out—at this point every one of ddot's friends liked her. well that's what she liked to believe, dd was always sweet to her along with notti.
she started to think back on why she even planned on telling him—she really didn't even think it through. zoey really wanted to tell him before dd's brithday—which was the day of her performance.
it felt like it was something that was waiting to happen. she was gonna slip and ruin everything.
panic gripped at zoey's heart, constricting her chest with an iron grip. the weight of guilt bore down upon her shoulders, threatening to consume her with its burden.
every fiber of zoey's being quivered with apprehension. thoughts raced through her mind, forming a tempest of anxiety. she had schemed to confess the truth to Ddot, to lay bare her transgression and seek redemption in honesty. but now, faced with the unexpected unveiling of her secret, the ground beneath her seemed to crumble, leaving her teetering on the edge of a precipice.
the air grew suffocatingly heavy around her, as though the walls of the room were closing in, amplifying her unease. beads of sweat formed on her forehead, betraying the intensity of her inner turmoil. her hands trembled uncontrollably, a visual manifestation of her inner chaos.
she felt like she was gonna have a full blown panic attack—she could cry right now.
zoey's mind became a whirlwind of self-doubt and anxiety. what if ddot hates her forever and never talks to her again? just the thought of disappointing and losing someone so important to her sent waves of nausea crashing through her stomach.
