Knots

Mirei wasn’t sure what was worse- being forced into a group project or the fact that her group included him.

It was supposed to be random. The teacher, in a rare moment of fairness, had split the class by drawing names. But luck had never been on her side, so of course, she ended up stuck with Gale, Aren, and Caelis.

"Looks like we’re doomed," Caelis muttered as they dragged their chairs into a loose circle. His notebook was still closed, and he looked about five seconds from throwing himself out the window.

"Stop whining," Aren said, already setting up her materials with the precision of someone who refused to let anyone else control her grade.

Mirei didn’t say anything. She hadn’t looked directly at Gale since they sat down. She wasn’t sure if he even realized she was in his group.

Gale leaned back in his chair, flipping through the assignment paper like it was some ancient prophecy. "So, we’re stuck together for the next week. How do we wanna do this?"

"Efficiently," Aren said, without missing a beat.

Caelis groaned. "That means she’s gonna give us all roles, doesn’t it?"

"It’s either that or we fail," Aren shot back.

Mirei let the conversation blur around her. Her focus was on not staring. But Gale was there, right there, and every part of her was painfully aware of it.

"Alright," Aren continued, pulling out her planner like a soldier preparing for war. "We need a presentation, a report, and a visual. Gale, you can handle-"

"I’ll take the slides," Gale cut in.

Aren frowned. "Are you actually good at slides, or are you just picking the easiest thing?"

Gale grinned, propping his chin on his palm. "A little of both."

Aren didn’t argue, though she scribbled something in her notebook that probably translated to "double-check his work."

"Caelis, you handle research," she continued.

Caelis groaned even louder. "You give me the most boring part?"

"You have the attention span of a goldfish. You need something to do."

Mirei half expected Caelis to argue, but he just sighed and slumped back.

"Fine. But I’m doing it my way."

That left her. Mirei already knew what was coming before Aren even looked at her.

"Mirei, you and I will do the report," Aren said. "We’ll split it fifty-fifty."

Mirei nodded, finally speaking for the first time. "Okay."

"Okay?" Caelis echoed. "That’s it? No complaints? You guys are just gonna let me suffer through research alone?"

"Yes," Aren said flatly.

Gale just laughed. It was the first time Mirei had heard it up close in years, and it sent something sharp through her chest.

She kept her head down, gripping her pen so tightly her knuckles ached.

The discussion moved forward, half-planned ideas taking shape, but Mirei barely heard them. She was here, Gale was here, and she was pretending it didn’t matter.

But knots didn’t just go away. They tightened, little by little, until the only thing left was to pull them apart.

And Mirei wasn’t sure she was ready for that.