Routine
Kael woke to the sound of his ceiling fan rattling. Again.
He stared at the blades for a while—watched them spin, then stutter, then spin again like they couldn’t decide what speed they wanted. The fan had been broken for months, but he never asked his uncle to fix it. The noise helped. Filled the silence.
He didn’t move yet. Didn’t stretch. Didn’t yawn.
Just breathed.
Something about this morning felt heavier than usual. Like the air had weight. Like his own thoughts were pressing down on him.
His phone buzzed against the desk. He reached over and checked.
DANIEL: yo fossil. wake up. meeting early today.
EMMA: he’s probably already awake just staring at the wall like a creep
ANNABELLE: he is 100% doing that exact thing.
KAEL: alive. barely.
A beat passed.
DANIEL: pics or ur a hallucination
EMMA: hallucinations have more energy tbh
ANNABELLE: he’s typing super slow. you can tell.
Kael smirked, just a little.
They were annoying. But they were his.
He got dressed slow. Hoodie. Joggers. Scuffed boots. Same as always.
His reflection in the mirror didn’t surprise him: pale skin, tired eyes, the one stubborn streak of black hair that refused to fall in line.
No glow. No aura. No Imprint.
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He’d gotten used to that.
The streets were alive already. Skytrains hummed on overhead lines. Billboards pulsed with ranked student highlights. Academy uniforms were everywhere—bright coats with gold trim, Tenra licenses worn like jewelry.
Kael kept his head down and hands in his pockets.
The second you started comparing yourself to that? You lost.
Their usual hangout spot was tucked behind a half-dead noodle stand between a Nexus bank and a broken vending machine. The perfect "no one cares if you loiter here" zone.
Daniel was already leaning against the wall, fire flickering in his palm like a stress toy.
"Finally," he said. "Was gonna toast your absence like a funeral offering."
"No one would show up," Kael said.
Annabelle arrived with her usual flash of violet light, hair slightly staticky from the teleport. "You're late," she said, poking Kael. "We're insulted."
"We deserve better friends," Daniel agreed.
"You deserve counseling," Annabelle added as she slid in behind Kael, quiet as always.
"There she is," Emma said. "The snark sniper."
Kael glanced at Annabelle. She didn’t say much after that. Just sipped from her drink, gaze flicking over him like she was trying to read something beneath his skin.
That was the thing about Annabelle. She noticed everything.
They talked about nothing for a while. School drama. Training screw-ups. The usual crap.
Kael listened more than he spoke. That was his rhythm. Part of the noise, but never the center.
Eventually, the group started to split. Emma had training. Daniel had tutoring.
Only Kael and Annabelle were left.
She didn’t rush off. Just stood beside him, leaning on the wall. Quiet.
After a while, she said, "You good?"
Kael shrugged. "I'm breathing."
"Not what I asked."
He didn’t answer right away. Just looked up at the sky, at the clouds slicing through the towers.
"Everyone keeps waiting," he said finally. "For something to change. For me to light up. Glow. Spark."
"Do you want to?"
He looked at her. Her eyes weren’t judging. Just... watching.
"I don’t know," he admitted. "Sometimes I think it’s better this way. Being normal. No pressure. No tracking."
She nodded. "But?"
"But it feels like there’s something inside me that’s not staying quiet much longer."
The words surprised him even as he said them.
Annabelle didn’t flinch.
"Maybe it’s not about noise," she said. "Maybe it's about timing."
Kael looked away.
The silence between them wasn’t awkward. It never was.
"Let me know when it starts to scream," she said, pushing off the wall. "I’ll listen."
And just like that, she was gone.
Kael stood there a while longer, trying not to think about the weird rhythm in his chest.
Not a heartbeat. Not fear.
Just something.
Something waiting.
