ii. Dinner Party

                                    

                                          
Jamie sat in the back corner of her math class, her notebook open but untouched. The pen in her hand moved absently, scrawling random numbers in the margins of the page, numbers that had no meaning—just distractions. She could hear Mr. Smith up at the front of the class, his voice droning on about algebraic equations, but the words barely registered. 
The bell rang, cutting through her thoughts. She blinked, realizing that she hadn't taken a single note. Around her, the other students were already packing up, chatting about after-school plans, football practice, or the latest gossip. Jamie stayed in her seat for a moment, watching as everyone filtered out of the room in pairs or small groups, laughter echoing in the hallway. It was strange how normal everything seemed.
But normal didn't exist for her anymore. Not since...
She shook her head, pushing the thought away as she stuffed her notebook into her bag. The weight in her chest was familiar now, always there, but heavier on days like today. She should have been more focused—should have been able to pull herself out of the fog she was in—but it was like a piece of her was missing. A piece that used to care about school, about friends, about being someone other than the hollow version of herself she'd become. Jamie let out a breath, making her way out of the class room and out of the school, wanting to get home. 
Jamie walked through the front door of the Gilbert house, letting it close softly behind her. She kicked off her shoes and hooked her keys by the door, her body aching with the kind of exhaustion that wasn't from physical exertion. School had been the same blur it always was lately—teachers talking, students laughing, all of it happening around her but none of it really touching her.
She could hear Elena moving around in the kitchen, the clatter of dishes mixing with the soft hum of a song playing on the radio. The sound drifted through the house, filling the empty spaces with an illusion of normalcy. But no matter how much noise filled the air, it never quite felt right. The house felt too big now, too quiet despite the small moments of life that still tried to echo through it. It had become their new version of normal, but that didn't mean it was comfortable.
Jamie trudged up the stairs, her feet heavy, as if each step dragged her further into the silence she couldn't escape. Her room had become her sanctuary—a place where she didn't have to fake a smile or answer the same, hollow questions. Once she crossed the threshold, she let out a soft sigh, dropping her school bag by the desk chair before sinking into the chair herself. The dim light of the sun filtered through the curtains, casting a golden hue over her cluttered desk.
She sat there for a moment, staring at her reflection in the darkened screen of her laptop. The weight in her chest that never quite went away pressed harder as she leaned forward, unzipping her bag with a rough tug and pulling out her notebook. She flipped it open to the page where she was supposed to start outlining her English paper. Something about classic literature and the hero's journey. But the words blurred together on the page, and her mind drifted, her thoughts wandering aimlessly as her pen hovered over the notebook.
The quiet buzz of the house settled around her, pressing in from all sides. Jamie let out a frustrated breath, trying to focus, but the void in her chest swallowed everything.
A soft knock on the door pulled her out of her haze. 
"Jay, will you come to dinner tonight?" Elena's voice filtered through the door, hopeful but cautious. "I know you're not up for it lately but it would mean a lot." 
Jamie didn't answer right away. She started down at the page, her hand still hovering over the person she drew, which she was starting to realize looked like her history teacher. Wasn't she just writing her English paper?