Frank woke in a huff. His sister was leaving his room, having prodded him from his slumber. Yawning, he realized she was rushing into the bathroom ahead of him. Part of their usual routine. Today was the final school day before the trip. The usual silence followed him as he went through the motions.

He was still a bit sad. Their dog, who lived outside, went missing a few weeks ago. He didn’t like to dwell on it, hoping that she’d come back home soon. His parents were especially confused since she was kept fenced in, but they couldn’t find any damage to it or any way for her to have gotten out.

Soon enough the bus arrived. Getting on, he knew without looking Jordan was waving him over. He met Jordan some time ago, last of the four friends. Some kids were picking on him when he wasn’t aware, and he rushed in to tell them off. Frank laughed; he didn’t even know he was deaf at the time. That’s just how Jordan was.

Since then, Jordan started learning sign language, even though Frank told him it wasn’t necessary. It made him feel bad, but he knew his friend was genuine in his effort. Gia sat behind Jordan where she would normally be found. What caught his eye instead was a certain green-eyed blonde sitting in the back. Maybe other kids didn’t notice, but he saw her sneaking glances at Jordan. He couldn’t help but pity her. Of all the people to have a crush on.

Steph wasn’t bad looking at all. She was more developed than most of the girls of her age, probably why she got so many rumors like Gia said, but she wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous. He didn’t know what she saw in Jordan but more power to her. He settled in and waited for TJ’s stop. School was going to be a formality today, so he wasn’t too worried. He noticed Gia saying something to Jordan.

‘Mom still home?’

Frank tapped Jordan’s arm. He could feel his friend suppress a jump. He didn’t know why that bothered him, but it was a consistent issue. He said it was fine but Frank wasn’t convinced. Jordan looked at him, Frank signing a question of what Gia meant. She was speaking quickly so her lips were hard to read.

Jordan didn’t respond immediately, which made Frank think maybe it was something he didn’t want to share. A guilty look crossed his face as he replied, signing as he spoke, ‘It’s nothing. No worries.’ Frank raised an eyebrow but didn’t question him further. The lie was evident enough.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. TJ arrived in his usual noise, a great vibration alerting Frank before his friends could react. Otherwise, Frank spent his time reading over notes for class or seeing what others were talking about. No one really paid attention to it, but he enjoyed eavesdropping from time to time. Not his fault they didn’t think he paid attention, that was on them. His own friends never got caught up in any gossip, but he didn’t expect that. Instead, he quietly watched a half dozen conversations, though everything seemed very lowkey today.

Everyone’s energy was being saved for the trip. Making it to the school hallway was always dicey. Not being able to hear meant that he was blind to people coming from behind and at his sides in a hurry. It wasn’t enough to make him anxious, but it always kept him alert. He slid past group after group, having a nice breakfast at home meant he could get into the class at his own leisure. Mr. Alden was at the doorway, watching for trouble.

Class went as smoothly as he imagined. Some rote tests, light note taking, reviewing what they already knew. Jordan wouldn’t stop fidgeting next to him. Frank frowned. He looked over and saw Gia catch his eye. Jordan didn’t do great in class. He never seemed to have the focus or energy for it. Frank would help him by sharing notes from time to time but for his friend, his mind seemed to be anywhere else. Gia looked sympathetic, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He jumped slightly before turning to grin at her. It looked conflicted.

Frank tapped his leg, signing at him when he turned to look. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’m being stupid. No worries.’

He frowned. ‘You aren’t. What’s the matter?’

‘I don’t know.’ Jordan’s hands went back to his work, looking away from Frank.

Frank glanced back at Gia. She mouthed ‘It’s complicated’ before what he presumed was the voice of Mr. Alden drew her attention to the front again. Frank focused on what was being written on the board, but the information slid away. They had three more classes after this, though he only shared one with Gia and the last with TJ and didn’t have Jordan for any of the rest. Whatever was going on would have to wait until the trip.

Frank let his attention wander, focusing on the new concrete walls and their white, chipping paint. This middle school was only finished recently, one of a pair with identical construction. He wondered often if it was meant to be a cost cutting measure. Despite the building being new it was made as quickly and as cheaply as one’d expect.

He thought about the comic Jordan lent him. He didn’t care for it much, but he could see why his friend would. He’d have to talk to him about it tomorrow on the trip. When the class ended, he remained behind to pick up whatever notes he needed. Mr. Alden waved him off.

‘Nothing today you shouldn’t already have.’

Frank gave him a thumbs up and headed out the door. The halls were already clearing which was why Steph waiting outside surprised him so much. Her bright green eyes positively glowed with excitement.

‘You’re Frank, right?’

Her lips were easy to read. She spoke slowly and deliberately. It unnerved him but he couldn’t put a finger on why. He nodded, signing at her out of habit. Her face twitched as she watched his hands move. It was more a flicker than a twitch if he was being honest. He didn’t know how to explain what he saw.

‘Don’t worry about that. I only,’ a flicker that continued here. Her face didn’t, for lack of a better way to phrase it, work right. She didn’t emote like a person should. One moment she was something, and then she was something else. It wasn’t obvious, but it was something Frank could see studying her closely. She snapped her fingers at him. ‘I need you to tell Jordan something for me.’

She was saying it sweet, a bright smile and flawless skin beaming at him. But she didn’t look happy. It looked fake. Like a mask she was wearing. Her eyes stared out beyond the mask, twin lights of some disquieting origin. A feeling, an urge, that he could almost understand. Once, when he was young, he went to an aquarium with his family. He was resting next to one of the tanks when he noticed his mom reacting to something behind him.

He remembered it vividly. Looking back, he saw the jaws of a crocodile, right where his head was. He could still recall the eyes of the creature. A grinning maw, full of teeth, with the same kind of eyes that now stared at him so intensely. He cried then, forgetting in childhood fright that a wall protected him. The eyes of this girl before him now were far worse.

The eyes of a predator. And there was nothing between them.

‘Tell him I’m looking forward to the trip, okay?’

Frank’s throat was tight. She closed her eyes and smiled again, walking away. Then, like a spell was broken, even as he stumbled back from how hard he tensed up, foolishness flooded him. She was just a teen, like them. Barely a year older. What was he thinking? Even as he berated himself for childish flights of fancy, his breathing came in shallow and quick.

His nerves were screwed up. That’s all it was. She wasn’t some monster, pretending to be a student. Jordan’s nonsense was getting to him. He met with Gia in their next class, talking through notes. She noticed something was wrong, and Frank couldn’t help but ask what the rumors were about Steph.

Gia thought about it. ‘I guess it’s mostly to do with her weight. One of her former friends, Sam, was talking about it. They were doing weighing for gym or something and she was supposed to be 200 pounds!’ She doodled in a shocked face.

Frank rolled his eyes reading the note. ‘That’s impossible,’ he wrote back. ‘She’s tiny.’

‘Just sharing what I heard. Maybe we should ask Steph ourselves,’ Gia included a little smiley face at the end.

Frank X’ed it out before giving it back. Gia patted him on the shoulder but gave him no more notes. Frank met up with TJ in the next class. They didn’t talk much, TJ seemingly distracted by something. The most Frank got out of him when prodded was a question.

‘Do you think it’s dorky to ask someone out on a trip?’

He looked at TJ, confused. TJ mouthed ‘Gia’ at him. Frank face palmed and wrote ‘Ask Jordan.’

TJ tried passing him notes, before tossing them at his head. Frank didn’t respond. He could feel TJ getting louder until the teacher made him shut up. That was territory Frank wanted nothing to with. Whatever happened there was way beyond what he felt comfortable with.

The bus ride home was uneventful. The foursome didn’t speak much among each other, instead a silence hung over them that was obvious even to him. The atmosphere was tense, but not for any explicable reason. His stop came quickly, Jordan waving him off.

His earlier case of nerves never fully went away, his body still tense. He wished he could calm down. It was so stupid. Something about Steph’s face, the way it slid from one emotion to the next, it wasn’t right.

So off kilter was he that he didn’t even try to look for his dog. Into the night he felt uneasy. Something wasn’t right about Steph and it wasn’t something obvious. She didn’t belong. His rational side kept calling it stupid, kept trying to argue he was afraid he was going to lose his best friend. But, deep down, something kept telling him.

She was wrong.