Kaleidoscope

Chapter 5: Type, Delete, Repeat

Saturday moved slow — the kind of slow that wraps around your limbs and makes you forget what day it is. Jamie was stretched across his bed, sunlight leaking through tilted blinds, his phone balanced against his chest like a paperweight.

He hadn't touched his lunch. He hadn't even gotten out of bed besides hitting the bathroom and grabbing some off-brand cereal. All day, his eyes kept drifting back to one thing: Alyssa's Instagram Story.

It had been up for a couple of hours. Just a short video — maybe three seconds — of her walking somewhere. Hoodie up, the drawstrings loose, earbuds in, wind brushing the side of her face. She didn't even look at the camera. Just captioned it:

"Peace comes in pieces sometimes."

The story was muted, no music, but Jamie could imagine some Tyler, the Creator floating in the background. Something off IGOR or Call Me If You Get Lost — mellow, moody, kinda weird in a beautiful way. She was like that — never too much, never loud, just always giving you something to feel.

He had the "Send message" box open. For like, the fifth time.

"That caption kinda deep. You good?"

Nah, too nosy.

"You always got them mysterious lil captions."

Delete. Too weird.

He sighed, leaned back into his pillow, and rubbed his face.

Why was this so damn hard?

The phone buzzed. Group call incoming.

Incoming call: Gh0ztbusterzz(Jamie and the guys' groupchat) 

Jamie let it ring twice, then picked up.

"Ayeee! Romeo answers the call!" Bluegill's voice came in hot, like always.

"Bruh, y'all serious?" Jamie said, rubbing his eyes.

"You know why we callin'," Sahir jumped in. "Lyss. Story. You. Ghostin'. We on your ass."

Rodney's voice followed, cooler, like he was laying down with AirPods in. "We tryna figure out if our boy Jamie gon' shoot his shot or keep lookin' at the hoop."

"I just don't wanna say some dumb shit," Jamie muttered, glancing at the Story timer. 22 hours left. Tik tok.

"Look," Kraig said, "she posted a Story, not a main post. That's her inviting engagement, dog. That ain't thirst — that's connection."

"Exactly!" Bluegill shouted. "Stories disappear. That mean if you don't say somethin', that chance gone forever."

Jamie groaned. "It ain't that simple."

"Yes, it is," Sahir said. "You see a window? Climb through it. Don't just stare at the glass."

Rodney added, "You already in the DM box, bro. That's half the battle. What's the worst that can happen?"

"She leave me on seen."

Everyone went quiet for a second.

Then Bluegill said, "Okay yeah, that'd hurt... but so what? You survive. You Black. You been through worse."

They all laughed.

Jamie cracked a smile. "Y'all some fools."

"No, we some believers," Sahir said. "And we believe in yo dusty ass. Now type the message."

Jamie breathed in. Opened her story again. Alyssa, hoodie on, walking with the wind, face halfway lit. Peace comes in pieces sometimes.

He tapped "Send Message."

Typed slow:

"You be postin' captions like you tryna make a nigga reflect."

He paused. Thought about it. Backspaced "nigga" out — just in case.

"You be postin' captions like you tryna make somebody reflect. I fw that."

Still real. Still him. Not too much.

He hit send.

Then he stared at the screen like it might explode.

Bluegill shouted through the call, "Lemme find out you actually did it."

"I did it," Jamie said quietly.

"AYEEEEEE!" Kraig, Sahir, Rodney, all cheering.

"Proud of you, my boy," Sahir said. "Proud like you my son walkin' the stage."

"Let's hope he get a response before that stage walk," Kraig added.

Rodney said nothing, but Jamie could hear the smirk in his silence.

Jamie sat up. Heart racing — not crazy fast, just enough to feel it in his chest. He didn't know what would happen next. But something about it felt... right. Like he just pressed play on something that had been paused too long.

He looked down at the screen again.

"Message seen."

His breath caught.

Then, three dots.

She was typing.