Editing credits to MoPatla

Ida's POV

"There are only 5 minutes left. Everyone hurry up" the teacher announced.

The room was filled with noises of papers being scribbled on and pens being dropped. I gaze at the person sitting right in front of me, drawing lines between each question. Then narrow my eyes towards Ethan, finding him reading the answers. Then towards Aiden, who was doing the same. Then Engine. And I sigh in relief to the fact that she was not done with the paper either.

I know that's very unkindly of me, but come on, admit it! Everyone wants that one person in their life to understand the tension you have five minutes before the paper is snatched from your very own sight.

I had one question left that needed to be answered in one-twenty words. But due to the pressure of time my brain has stopped functioning correctly.

Ida think! The first word Ida. The first fucking word! What was it?!

"Vastness? Demonstration? Ugh" I mutter softly under my breath.

"Something wrong Ida?" Mr. Wilson, who was the invigilator for the exam, asked.

I gave a bitter smile and nod.

That's it.

That's when I realize. the word 'Something'!

And now I automatically start to remember everything. Without wasting any more seconds of my life I start to scribble down the answer on the sheet.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Holy moly NO~

My beautiful paper now has a long scratch from the ink pen while being snatched away by a teacher, and I growl in response.

"I told pen's down" the teacher gives a vex look and moves to the next bench.

, and she does the same. Aiden gives us an innocent smile like he had no idea what's up.

"How was the paper?" Ethan walked beside me in the hallway.

"It was white and black" I smirk.

Why should I tell him? He was the reason I was not able to complete the paper. For about half an hour, my head kept revolving around what happened in the washroom.

You should tell him because, because of him, your attacks have reduced drastically.

My subconscious pricks me back. It is true. My attacks had not wholly disappeared, but they have reduced—a lot.

"Seriously?"

"Okay, no, it was white and black before I started writing," I tell confidently emphasizing on 'was'.

"Wait Ida," he says, and I stop "why don't you wear the locket I gifted you?"

He noticed that. I don't know why I don't wear it, yet I carry it everywhere with me.

"I want you to wear it" he grabs hold of my wrist.

My heart races and I fear that he can feel it through my pulse.

"Okay" is all I manage to muster up.

He lets go of my wrist and I give him a nod as a bye and head to the bus stop.

. I only worked when my dad was out of town and money was a necessity.

My phone rang, and the screen lit up. It was my mom calling. She was probably asking for how the paper was.

"Honey," she said with love "Did you do well?"

"Yes mom, don't worry; it went really well. I'll see you at dinner."

"Okay, take care"

Changing into the uniform, I fold my clothes and zip the bag up. We were not allowed to use our phones during working hours and hence I kept it along with my other stuff.

"Hey Leo!" I wave at Leo. He joined as a staff way before I had and has been friendly to me since day one.
He looked young, maybe a few years older? But we had the same height.

"Hi Ida. How was the paper?" He smiles.

"It was easy, but I missed out on half a question" I say. The thought of telling him about the paper being white and black had passed my mind, but I decided against it.

"It's alright" he gives a thumbs up and continues writing down the order.

When the shift was over, I collected my pay for the day. I mean... the last day since my so-called dad was coming back tomorrow.

As I pack up my stuff I caught a glimpse of the locket that Ethan had gifted me. I grabbed it out of the safe corner it was kept in and stared.

Should I wear it?

But what if my dad notices it?

He will be here, tomorrow, right? So, I guess there will be no harm to wear it today.

I will remove it before he arrives. With this intention, I wear the locket.
Hanging my bag over my shoulders, I head out. It was almost sundown, and I had missed the bus. The next would be after a full twenty-five minutes. Which would be enough time for a little shopping.

I walk around for a bit, not finding anything that mom would like.

Huh.

I look at a beautiful and elegant dress through the glass that would suit mom, from her preferences.

I think she will like it.

"Welcome ma'am" I smile at the saleswomen who greets me as I enter.

"Do you have other sizes in this" I point towards the dress.

"Yes ma'am" she responds.

"How much would this cost?" I ask after picking the correct size.

The dress was out of my budget. Initially, I was supposed to use the money I earned today from the job for the dress, but I had to add a little more to it.

Anyways I'm satisfied with what I had bought for mom and reached the bus stop just on time.

The door was locked, which is very unusual because mom never locked the door. Ever. Burglaries were not an issue in this town. It was a very friendly neighborhood.

I rang the bell and waited. The cold breeze made me shiver.

"Honey" my mom opened the door "sorry to make you wait"

"Issok" I playfully say and then ask, "what's for dinner?"

"Your favorite" she says.

"Great" I smile "mom here is something for you"

She takes the bag from my hand, keeps it aside, and brings me into her embrace.

"Thank you" she says in a soft yet broken tone.

I move her aside after returning her embrace "mom why are you crying"

"Nothing. Come fast before the dinner gets cold" she wipes away her tears and heads towards the kitchen.

I keep my bag aside after removing the phone and head towards the kitchen.
A ping on my phone distracts me.

Ethan.

My heart warms at his message.

"Hello Ida" my dad's voice startles me before I could text Ethan back.

"Dad?" I exclaim in horror.

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