Adam was dead to the world.
Sunlight had already invaded his room with no respect whatsoever, pouring through the half drawn blinds in golden stripes that stretched across the floor, climbed the walls, and stopped just short of his bed. Dust floated lazily in the beams, drifting in slow spirals like they had nowhere urgent to be.
Unlike Adam.
His phone buzzed.
Once.
Twice.
Then silence.
On the third ring he jolted upright as if someone had fired a starter pistol beside his ear.
He blinked into the light, disoriented, his brain trying to remember which dimension he belonged to. His dreads were everywhere, sprawled across his face like thin small black ropes, some twisted under his cheek. The sheets were in even worse condition, tangled and kicked loose from the corners as though he had fought a silent war in his sleep.
His hand fumbled for the phone.
Too late.
Missed call.
He squinted, wiping the crust from the corner of his eye with the back of his hand. His vision focused in slow increments.
From the half-packed suitcase on the floor. Then Bryce's bed; Perfectly made, Empty.
The sunlight; Too high. too bright.
Too late?
Adam grabbed his phone fully this time and stared at the screen.
9:21 a.m., Tuesday, October the twenty ninth.
His heart dropped.
"Ah—"
The word died halfway through as realization punched him square in the chest.
They were supposed to leave at nine.
He scrolled down.
Six missed calls.
Three from Bryce.
Two from Aiva.
One from Brandon.
"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me."
He threw the blanket off himself and immediately tripped over his own foot, slamming into the edge of the bed frame.
Pain shot up his toe.
He hopped once on instinct, clutching his foot. "Ow— what is wrong with me today?"
The dorm was silent.
Too silent.
No footsteps in the hallway. No chatter from downstairs. No doors slamming.
Everyone had already left.
He bolted to the shower.
The water blasted on cold before warming up and he stood under it for all of thirty seconds, scrubbing himself at record speed. Soap barely had time to lather before he rinsed. His mind kept replaying the time.
9:23.
He stepped out, grabbed a towel, nearly slipped again, caught himself on the sink. His reflection stared back at him from the fogging mirror.
Ebony skin still damp from steam, muscles defined but lean, more so than usual. His shoulders looked slightly sharper than they had a week ago. His cheekbones a little more pronounced.
He ignored that.
No time.
He pulled on the school requested outfit: a long-sleeved white tracksuit tee with the academy's crest stamped over the left chest in deep red and silver. The fabric clung comfortably to his frame, sleeves stretching over toned arms. Deep velvet red tracksuit trousers followed, fitted but flexible, silver accents tracing down the sides in clean lines. White trainers. Fresh. Bright against the darker tones.
He ran a hand through his dreads and froze.
Wet.
He had forgotten the shower cap.
"Shit!... Just great!"
No time to dry them.
He stuffed the last of his clothes into his duffel bag, zipping it with reckless finality. Toothbrush. Charger. Hoodie. He didn't double check.
He didn't have the luxury.
He slung the bag over his shoulder and nearly laughed.
It weighed nothing.
Correction, it weighed something, but his arm did not acknowledge it. He was holding a fully loaded duffel bag the way someone would hold a basketball tucked casually under one arm.
He passed the mirror by the door and stopped abruptly.
Right. My Strength.
He adjusted.
Subtly lowering his shoulders, letting his posture sag just enough to suggest weight. He shifted the bag downward, allowing it to pull slightly on his arm.
Better. Now for the wet hair.
He dug into the bag and fished out a plain rasta cap, yanking it over his damp dreads to hide the evidence of his rushed shower.
Okay.
Human.
Normal.
Late human. A very late human
He sprinted down the hallway, then consciously slowed himself.
His legs wanted to eat the distance in a handful of strides. His lungs barely needed air. Even on what felt like a weaker morning, there was coiled power in his muscles, reflexively ready to explode.
He restrained it.
He ran like a normal student would run when they were late, slightly awkward, slightly winded.
Even though this pace was laughable compared to what he could actually do now.
And today, even that felt heavier than usual.
There was a sluggishness beneath his skin, a faint tremor of fatigue. His body felt like it was running on fumes. His stomach tightened uncomfortably, hollow and irritable.
He ignored that too.
He burst out the front doors of the school's central atrium and into the open courtyard.
Two silver and grey luxury coaches idled at the curb, engines humming steadily. Sunlight glinted off polished metal. Luggage compartments were already sealed. Students milled near the doors, some boarding, some glaring.
A noticeable number of second years turned their heads at once.
And their expressions shifted.
Irritation.
Exasperation.
"And he finally decides to show up."
"Hey look... Sleeping beauty made it"
"Oh my god he's finally here."
"Bro we've been waiting."
"Half an hour late is crazy."
Adam winced internally.
Bryce stood near the first bus, arms crossed, lips twitching like he was trying not to laugh. Beside him stood the principal, posture straight, expression unreadable.
Adam jogged up and spoke before she could.
"I'm so sorry, ma'am. I overslept. I feel a little weak today, but I'm not sick. I promise."
The principal looked at him for a long second.
The kind of look that made everyone within earshot suddenly very interested in the pavement.
"You're late Adam," she said simply.
Silence, as Adam stood awkwardly trying to avoid her eyes.
A sigh followed.
"See me after we reach the island."
That was it.
No raised voice.
No lecture.
Which somehow made it worse.
A collective silent reaction rippled through the nearby students.
"Oh, you are so in trouble now." A voice said laughingly somewhere in the bus.
Adam nodded quickly. "Yes ma'am."
In his head he could only wonder how this whole trip had gone bad before they even started.
He felt truly unlucky today