𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑| 𝐋.𝐂.

6: Music and mysteries

"Did you sleep okay?" Leo asks and I pause from picking at my salad.

"I tossed a turned a bit but I finally fell asleep." I say to him and he nods.

"So, uh, what are you reading?" Max asks Jackie.

"Surf reports. Four foot swells tomorrow." Jackie responds.

"Oh, you surf?" Max says and I can already sense Jackie glaring at him.

"So, where are you from, Jackie?" Leo asks.

"Everywhere. I bounced around a lot." She nods at Leo.

"Cool." Leo nods back at her.

"Hey, I don't mean to be nosy, but why were you in handcuffs at the exam?" Emma asks.

"To protect Leo. I mean, did you hear how loud he was playing his guitar?" I say and I can sense Jackie looking at me.

"Ha-ha." Leo says with a smug grin on his face and I chuckle at him.

I then look at Jackie and she immediately breaks eye contact with me.

"Even I would've strangled him." I say and Max and Emma laugh.

"You already threatened to do that last night." Leo scoffs.

"It was a warning, not a threat." I say, pointing my fork at him and Hayley and Max laugh.

"What? My notebook." I hear Jackie say as she looks at her pink journal.

"What about it?" I ask her.

"How did this happen? It was soaking wet. I threw it away." She says, looking at us and I look to see Max's face harden.

"Well, I just remembered I have a lot of homework to do." Max says and grabs his tray, walking off.

"That was weird. I wonder who did it." I mutter, raising my eyebrows at Leo.

"Yeah, me too." Leo says, scoffing.

"Carter, three o'clock." Emma says to me and I turn my head to see Carter walking with his hoodie around his waist.

We glance at each other but I quickly turn back around, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"You guys still didn't make up?" Max says.

"Max!" Hayley says and swats his arm.

"Sorry!" Max says, giving me a sorrowful look.

"It's fine. I just need-"

"Air." Leo says, finishing my sentence and I meet his green eyes.

"Yeah." I nod at him and he nods back as I close the lid of my salad, then grabbing my tray and walking off.

||

"Hey." Leo mouths, standing over me.

"Hi." I say, taking off my headphones.

"You okay?" He asks.

"Yeah." I nod, attempting to put them back but Leo takes them out of my hand.

"Wait. Come on, get up. I wanna show you something." He says.

"What?" I state, trying to snatch my headphones back from him.

"It's something especially for people in your condition." He says.

"My condition?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, your sad condition." He says and I chuckle.

"Asshole." I shake my head.

"You're a real downer, Ramirez. Nobody ever told you that?" Leo scoffs.