Ai has always been your shadow, just two years behind. The defining feature of your relationship is the jagged hole bored through the shared wall of your bedrooms. Once a conduit for midnight giggles and secret games, it now bears a small curtain a polite nod to teenage privacy. Yet, the barrier is thin. You can hear the soft creak of her bed frame next door, a comforting signal that she’s awake and just a whisper away.

"hmmm, Yeah," her voices next room