When Rotxo got to the lunch room, his usual seat next to Kiri had been taken. The rest of the group was yet to arrive. Kiri was deep in conversation with a boy whose back was to Rotxo, but he didn't need to see his face to know who he was. Spider's distinct hair revealed his identity instantly. Rotxo lingered a few yards back, observing. He saw Kiri's eyes widen at something Spider said, followed by a gasp and a smile. Her nose wrinkled as she laughed, like a bunny. Rotxo felt sick. How could she sit there and laugh like that? Was the singular day Rotxo had been absent enough for her to replace him? He felt guilty for thinking of her as his, but he could not help himself. He watched Tsireya and Lo'ak sit down across from them. A look of surprise flitted across Tsireya's face before she grinned at Kiri, speaking hurriedly about something. Spider waved at Lo'ak. Lo'ak nodded curtly in response, saying nothing.
Rotxo got his lunch from the line and made his way over to his table. Ao'nung and Neteyam hadn't shown up yet, leaving two empty seats. Out of spite, Rotxo chose the one furthest away from Kiri, feeling satisfied by her confused gaze. He picked at his food, not wanting to look at her. He knew he was overreacting, but he didn't care. Well, he did care. He cared very much. Not looking at her now, not knowing how she was feeling about his distance was killing him. However, he made sure it looked as if he was completely unbothered. Rotxo listened to Tsireya talk about her new sister absentmindedly, staring off into space. He was brought back to earth by someone clapping Spider on the shoulder and murmuring something to him. Spider laughed, nodding. "I gotta go," he said, picking up his lunchbox. "Bye, guys." He turned to leave. Rotxo looked up at Kiri for the first time since he sat down. Someone tapped his shoulder. Rotxo turned, looking into Spider's eyes. He was leaning over Rotxo, in what he must have thought to be an intimidating way. Rotxo blinked. "I hope you don't mind that I filled your spot yesterday," he grinned, voice too quiet for Kiri to hear. Before Rotxo could respond, he was gone, walking away with his stupid hair moving in the breeze.
After Spider's comment, Rotxo was in no way about to move into the empty spot beside Kiri. He stared determinedly down at his phone, despite feeling her intense gaze on him. She whispered his name. He didn't look up. Rotxo felt something cold and wet brush the back of his hand. His eyes shot up in alarm. A small carrot rested against his hand. He followed its trail of condensation across the table. Kiri was staring at him, another baby carrot clutched in her fist. She smiled a little smile, placing it on the table and rolling it across. It bumped the first carrot. She grinned, looking up at him to see if he was smiling. Rotxo was not smiling, not at all. Kiri's face fell upon realizing this. Rotxo felt a wave of guilt so strong he nearly became nauseous. He scrambled out of his seat into the one beside her, handing both carrots back to her. "There you are," she whispered, grinning at him. Rotxo worked very hard not to smile back. She blinked at him, tilting her head to the side. Rotxo felt his chest heat as her large eyes looked into his, searching for an answer as to why he was acting this way. "He drove you home?" Rotxo whispered, as quietly as he could. Kiri's eyes softened. "Yeah, he did," she whispered back. "Neteyam was going to make me come with him to this flower shop super far away." Rotxo nodded slowly. "I get these migraines sometimes," she said suddenly. "Teyam didn't have any Advil, or anything. I just didn't- I needed to go home." She paused, looking up at him with those large eyes. She carried a sadness in her eyes no matter what she was feeling. This time, however, Rotxo felt as if her sadness was specific. "It's okay," Rotxo whispered. "Of course it's okay, Kiri, I have no right to get upset or anything." He hated how true his words were. He wished he was in a position to have his feelings rightfully hurt by Kiri getting a ride home from some random guy. "He's not you," Kiri whispered. "He has a stupid aux cord like a loser. His car doesn't smell like pine. He stole my claw clip." Rotxo grinned. "He's not you," she repeated, louder this time. "I'll get your clip back," Rotxo promised, watching her eyes sparkle.
"Where's Ao'nung?" Rotxo asked, looking over at Tsireya. She blinked pointedly at him. "What?" he asked, confused. "Did he come today?" Tsireya nodded, continuing to blink at him. "Why are you doing that, Reya? Is something in your eye?" he whispered, looking closely to see if he could see some dirt in her eye. "No, you idiot, there isn't anything in my eye," she hissed. "Oh. Well, you were blinking pretty hard," he explained. She looked at him in disbelief. "Yeah, where is Ao'nung? And Neteyam, too?" Lo'ak asked, rising out of his seat to scan the crowd for them. Tsireya reached for him to pull him down. She rested her hand on his chest, looking up at him with soft eyes and a small smile.. Lo'ak's head immediately snapped down to look at her. "Lo," she whispered, gesturing to the table with a tilt of her head. In the blink of an eye, he was seated, staring up at Tsireya with wide, nervous eyes. She smiled at him, drumming her fingers on his chest for a second before pulling her hand away and turning back to her lunch. All thoughts of his brother seemed to have disappeared. Lo'ak's mouth was slightly ajar. He put his own hand where hers had been, looking over at her with a breathless grin on his face. Kiri sighed and rolled her eyes at her brother, as he rested his chin in his palm to keep gazing at Tsireya.
Ao'nung and Neteyam arrived at their table at the same time. "Where were you guys?" Lo'ak asked, staring at Neteyam as he seated himself at the table. "I left my computer charger in the car," Neteyam answered automatically, not looking at Lo'ak. "And I was, uh, making sure the swim uniforms are all organized. By size. Making sure they were all organized by size," Ao'nung explained, glancing at his sister. "Oh, I didn't know coach asked us to do that," Rotxo mumbled, looking over at Ao'nung. Both him and his sister gave him twin glares of exasperation. Tsireya shook her head slowly. "Tey, your braids are coming undone," Lo'ak pointed out, looking at Neteyam's hair. Ao'nung froze. "I thought you just did them," Lo'ak continued. He turned to Kiri. "Didn't he just do them?" Kiri blinked. "I, uh, I think it was sometime last week," she answered, nodding. She was lying. Even Rotxo noticed Neteyam's hair was different than it had been the last time he had seen him. "Oh. Still, what were you doing to make your braids fall out? Did you go to the pool?" Neteyam turned his head slowly to face his brother. "Yes," he said, nodding. "I went to the pool." Neteyam was a horrible liar. "When?" "For god's sake, Lo'ak," Kiri hissed, kicking his leg under the table. "Ow! Kiri," he groaned, rubbing his shin. Rotxo grinned and looked over at Kiri. She was looking nervously between Neteyam and Ao'nung. What had Neteyam been doing to mess up his hair so fast? Of course, Rotxo had the sense not to ask him this out loud, but he still was curious. Neteyam had had his previous style in for at least a week, Rotxo assumed. Aren't they supposed to last a while? He glanced over at Ao'nung, doing a double take at how red his face was. Rotxo's brow furrowed. Hadn't Tonowari braided Ao'nung's hair this morning? He was sure he had. It had almost made the three of them late to school. Ao'nung pulled his jacket hood up slightly around his neck, glancing over at Neteyam. He grinned and looked away, face turning even redder. Rotxo's jaw dropped. He looked over at Neteyam. His necklaces were tangled. His bracelets were missing. Rotxo gasped as everything clicked. Tsireya looked up at him in alarm. "OH!" he shouted, staring Ao'nung directly in the eyes. Ao'nung's eyes widened in fear. Rotxo rose slightly out of his seat, eyes darting around the table. "OH!" "Rotxo, I gotta tell you something!" Kiri called, jumping to her feet and trying to shield him from Lo'ak's view. "OH! OH, MY-" "Rotxo," Kiri shouted. "OH! AO'NUNG! I- YOU-" someone grabbed his hand. He looked down to see fingers with chipped green nail polish and several thick silver rings intertwined with his. Kiri's hand, so much smaller than he had expected it to be, was in his. Kiri was holding onto him. Kiri's fingers were threaded in between his. "Rotxo, come with me, I gotta-" Rotxo shut his mouth and went, letting her pull him almost aggressively out of his seat.
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