𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚡𝙱)

Track 17 | 𝗠𝗿. 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲

⏭

I pedaled my bike to the high school at the brink of dawn; when the neighborhood was the most honest. At this time, the furs of Cloverland had just woken up, allowing their truest forms to be shed in the rising sun. Every morning, I see brief vignettes of these, all blending similarly with every day that passes, yet each different in their own like: a man stepping out on his front porch with fresh, hot coffee, another person rushing out of their house for work, a mother dragging their snotty children to school, strangers out for a morning exercise; you get the deal. People. All similar, all different. And I catch a glimpse of a new person, a new vignette, every single day.

That's also what I see when I view the massive high school population standing outside of the large building on the sidewalk, annoyed out of their minds that they have to wake up at seven in the morning for shit they're forced to endure.

"HARVARD!" I heard Rian scream aloud from the cavalry once again like he's always done for the past few months. I directed my bike over to our usual spot on the sidewalk and hopped off of it, chaining it to the rack. Rian, Harley, Torrence, and Levi were all there, standing exactly where they've always been.

"Heyyyy," I greeted with an exhausted tone of voice, resting my paws on my hips as I scanned my surroundings. "Where's Ari? A-And Eden?"

"They bike to school together, maybe they're just late," Torrence shrugged it off, leaning against the outer wall of the building. Levi stood beside him, awkwardly crossing his arms. Next to him, Harley loitered by the bike rack, resting his arm on the metal beams as he stared up at the sky, seemingly in his own head. He and Levi shared passing glances.

I stared out at the street where they had appeared yesterday, impatiently waiting for their little silhouettes to pop up over the horizon. 

Ever since last night, I couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Why? Something wrong?" Rian asked, casually nudging me with his arm, keenly perceptive of the way my foot tapped against the concrete eagerly.

"Your tail's wagging like crazy, man," Torrence chuckled, causing me to blush. I hurriedly tried to grab ahold of the damn thing. "You excited to see Eden again?"

"Shut up, dude," I grunted as Rian captured my tail for me, although struggling to hold it still. "...Thanks."

"Oh, they opened the doors," Levi noticed, watching the other students slowly file into the front of the building. "Time to go in."

Torrence and Rian both grabbed their bags off of the concrete floor, which was moist with morning dew. Harley jokingly collapsed atop Levi's back, making the fox drag the 'too-tired-to-walk' folf to school. Levi just rolled his eyes and complied.

"Wait, what about—" I looked back once more for the duo, until Rian interrupted me with, "They'll be here soon, Harv, it's alright. Let's go."

⏭

As I marched down the crowded, yellow-fluorescent-lit halls of my high school, I scanned the calamitous congregation of students with the names Ari had mentioned to me last night in mind. The boys that he's been with before.

Alex Freeson, a lynx in our grade, leaned against the lockers, staring at his phone. He's in a few of my classes, but I never really noticed or addressed his presence until now. He seemed like a quiet guy, not bothering to talk to anyone. He wore basic clothing, had fluffy hair that swooped barely over his right eye, and was pretty tall and scrawny.

Daniel Pierre, another senior, walked past me beside two other girls, seemingly indulging in flirty conversation. He was a very suave husky and had a sly, but not in-your-face-attractive, demeanor to his walk and gestures. I've seen him once or twice in the halls, but I've never spoken to him, I've only ever known his name because of how popular he was with the girls. And only girls.