𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚡𝙱)

Track 11 | 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?

Rian nodded at me and I nodded back. That was basically a hug on our terms.

I set my sights on Levi, noticing something was up with him. The fox had bags under his eyes and he was trembling, biting his nails frantically. "Lev, you good?"

"Kaminski's test is today, I studied several hours last night and didn't get any sleep," Levi fretted, rubbing his temples with anxiety. I guess Levi could be deemed as a straight-A squire in this group.

"Oh, poor baby boy," Torrence teased, hugging Levi and petting his head as the Shiba pretended to cry. Levi shoved Torrence off and the two began to fight each other pathetically with their paws.

I rolled my eyes and turned around, noticing two people on bikes, riding down the street in the distance. Of course, it was Eden and Ari. Today was Ari's first day at school. Maybe that's why my instincts told me to get up earlier than usual today. They were both laughing as they rode onto the sidewalk. I felt my body tense up once I laid my eyes on the two of them.

"Hello, men," Eden announced herself, the two of them parking their bikes in the last two slots on the bike rack. Eden dismounted her bike and held her arms up, presenting herself as we all stared.

"Oh no, it's a woman, my worst nightmare," Rian joked as Eden snorted, nudging him with her shoulder. Ari hopped off of his bike and followed Eden as they stood beside us.

Eden had done her hair a little differently today. She wore her hair down this time, adding more volume to the short cut and her fringe. She was wearing a front crop denim jacket with a black tank top underneath, along with beige corduroys. Ari was wearing a brown graphic t-shirt with long, striped sleeves that came from underneath the cuff hems. He was also wearing ripped jeans with his doodled Converse shoes. I also noticed he painted his nails black, likely a new coat for his first day of school.

Eden and Ari were definitely the best dressed out of all of us. I don't think any of us even tried this morning. Levi was literally wearing the shirt he wore yesterday.

Ari stared up at the school building, noticing its height and large aspect ratio. He then looked down at the crowd of students, viewing our community right before his eyes for the first time. His eyes then drifted over to me.

"Northwest," Ari nodded at me as if his head was taking a bow. I nodded back. "Rian, Torrence, Levi. Good to see you guys."

"Ready for school, Ari?" Torrence asked, parting from his fight with Levi.

"How you feelin' man?" Rian asked on top of Torrence's question, softly patting Ari on his arm.

"A little nervous, but I'm excited," Ari smiled, nodding his head. "I've always wondered what public schools were like. I watched a lot of teen dramas in my spare time to get a good image in my head."

"Oh, don't believe a single thing they say," Rian said, shaking his head. "They never get it right."

"Well, Eden snuck me into a few football games, so at least I know what the student majority looks like," Ari chuckled.

"You'd still be surprised," Levi whispered, his eyes bulging and his limbs still shivering.

"Is... Is he okay?" Ari asked quietly, pointing at the fox who looked like he had done a thousand drugs at once.

"Hey, did you get your schedule?" Eden asked Ari, taking his attention.

"Oh, yeah, here," Ari said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a folded-up slip of paper. He unfolded it like a map and handed it over to Eden. Eden scanned the entire schedule. Suddenly, her face shifted from calm to horrified. "What?"