When I woke up, I followed my usual routine to get ready for school. After brushing my teeth and getting dressed, I headed downstairs.

  My dad was already waiting in the kitchen. He was holding a takeout bag.

  That alone was strange—my dad almost never packed my lunch.

  “Good morning, son,” he said with a smile. “I’m proud of you for catching up on all your schoolwork this weekend, so I got you something.”

  I opened the bag and immediately grinned. It was from my favorite Thai restaurant.

  Curry Pad Thai.

  The smell alone made my stomach growl. That perfect salty-sweet flavor—probably packed with way too much MSG—was exactly what I wanted.

  “Thanks, Dad,” I said.

  I grabbed the bag and headed for the door, ready to return to my normal life. Well… mostly normal.

  Now I just had a massive secret.

  Outside, standing on the sidewalk, was a tall, slightly thin Asian teenager.

  Arthur.

  I’d known him since Grade 5, when I first moved to Mississauga. He had been one of the first friends I made.

  “Hey, Jacob,” Arthur said. “How are you feeling, man? Your dad said you were sick. The boys and I missed you.”

  “Yeah, I’m feeling much better,” I replied. “The worst part was catching up on all the schoolwork over the weekend. But I managed.”

  Arthur laughed. “Your dad’s strict.”

  “You have no idea.”

  We started walking toward our usual bus stop. Another familiar figure was already waiting there.

  Ashok.

  He was shorter than us, a bit chubby, with tan skin and thin glasses that always slid slightly down his nose.

  “Hey Ashok,” I said. “How’s it going?”

  He smiled. “Heard you were sick. Hope you’re feeling better. If you need help catching up, you can always ask me.”

  I had met Ashok the same year I met Arthur. We hadn’t been close at first, but over time we ended up in the same friend group and gradually became good friends.

  Arthur shrugged. “Don’t worry about him. Apparently, his dad got all the assignments he missed and made him do them over the weekend.”

  Ashok winced sympathetically.

  “Brutal. At least you’ll be ready for the test next week.”

  I groaned.

  Tests were the worst. I always felt like I either studied way too much… or nowhere near enough.

  The bus arrived a few minutes later.

  By the time we climbed on, it was already filling up with students heading toward the school. Our stop was still a short distance away, so we rode quietly until we reached it.

  After getting off the bus, we walked the remaining stretch toward the school.

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  On the way, we passed the soccer fields and the football field that belonged to the school. Next to the campus sat the community library and a public pool connected to the building.

  Under a cloudy gray sky, the whole place looked a little depressing.

  Once I reached class, someone dropped into the seat next to me.

  David.

  He had brown hair, slightly tanned white skin, and a laid-back attitude that made him look permanently relaxed. I met him at the start of high school in Grade 9.

  He was also one of the funniest people I knew.

  “Hey, man,” he said. “Feels like forever since I last saw you. Are you alive?”

  “Barely,” I joked. “Had to survive the homework apocalypse first.”

  We spent a few minutes catching up before class started.

  I had three classes before lunch, when the four of us usually met up. The morning passed normally enough. I struggled a little to keep up with the lessons at first, but eventually I found my rhythm again.

  Except for French.

  French was always a disaster.

  At lunch, we met up in front of the cafeteria, like usual. From there, we decided what to do.

  Sometimes we ate inside the cafeteria. Other times, we walked to the nearby college campus to grab food there. Since I already had my Pad Thai, I figured the others would choose the college.

  They did.

  The walk took about ten minutes along a small trail between the campuses. As usual, the conversation bounced between random topics—teachers we didn’t like, school gossip, and occasionally something happening in the world. Our friend group worked because we didn’t always think the same way.

  But we’d gone through a lot together.

  “Jacob,” Arthur said suddenly, “what’s your topic for the French assignment?”

  “Oh yeah,” I said. “We have to be present in a country where French is widely spoken. I’m thinking Algeria or maybe C?te d’Ivoire.”

  Then I remembered something.

  “Wait… wasn’t this the assignment that caused problems last year?”

  Ashok and David immediately started laughing.

  “Oh man,” David said. “I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

  “What happened?” Arthur asked.

  “My cousin recorded it,” David continued. “The guy started with a normal presentation, then somehow went on a rant about the Arab Spring, irregulars, and some crazy ‘Ult-Human world order’ conspiracy.”

  Ashok nearly choked laughing.

  “Madame Lavigne was furious.”

  “Why are you laughing so hard?” Arthur asked.

  “Because David showed me the video,” Ashok said. “It starts out normal… then just completely crashes and burns.”

  We spent the rest of the walk laughing about it. At the college cafeteria, the guys grabbed food while I opened my Pad Thai. It was just as good as I hoped. After lunch, we headed back to school for the rest of our classes.

  When school ended, I went to my locker and grabbed my gym bag.

  Volleyball practice.

  Inside the change room, I saw Ashok already finishing up.

  “You ready for practice?” he asked.

  “Always,” I said. “How’s the weight loss going? You know coach is only giving you that position if you hit the goal.”

  Ashok sighed.

  “I know. I’ve got about twenty pounds left.”

  Ashok loved sports more than anyone I knew. He was overweight, but his work ethic was ridiculous. He practiced harder than anyone on the team.

  Defensively, he was one of our best players.

  Originally, he wanted to be a setter, but he was frustrated about his height.

  I convinced him to focus on what he was already good at.

  Eventually, he and the coach worked out a deal.

  If he kept losing weight consistently, he could stay on the team and play libero.

  Practice went well.

  At the end, our coach reminded us about the upcoming local tournament against several other schools.

  These tournaments happened every couple of weekends. Teams earned points that determined whether they qualified for provincials.

  Luckily, we had already secured enough points a month earlier.

  After practice, Ashok and I changed and headed to the library.

  Arthur and David were already there studying.

  We joined them for a while, mostly talking about homework and upcoming assignments. Eventually, the library started closing. David lived closer to the school, so he headed home first.

  The rest of us caught the bus together.

  As the bus rolled through the quiet streets, I thought about everything coming up.

  Clubs like the Model United Nations, robotics, and volleyball.

  For the first time in a while, things felt normal again.

  And honestly?

  That felt pretty good.

  For now.