between them with a thud that cut through the dull hum of the lunchroom. It looked old-weathered and oddly out of place against their trays of half-eaten cafeteria food. "Hey," he said, a crooked grin tugging at his mouth, "look what I found." Iris blinked at the journal, then at him, confusion flickering across her face. "Dex... what is this?" Micah, mid-sip of a neon blue slushie, leaned over to get a better look. He made a face. "Ew. It seriously lacks personality. Looks like it smells like regret and dust." Dexter rolled his eyes. "It's Monroe's. Like... her diary or something." Iris's expression changed in an instant. Horror. Disbelief. Her voice dropped to a sharp whisper. "You took a teacher's journal? Are you crazy?!" Dex didn't flinch. "It was just sitting in her desk. Unlocked. Practically begging to be read." He pulled out a chair and dropped into it, flipping the journal open with one hand, like it was just a comic book. "Okay, well-maybe it was begging to be read," Micah admitted, half-sarcastic, half-intrigued now. "Still. You know this is how horror movies start, right? Weird kid steals cursed object. Demonic chaos ensues." "It's not cursed," Dex said dryly. "It's just weird. Like-really weird. Look at this." He turned the journal toward them, pages fluttering until he stopped on a hand-drawn map. Thick black lines, labeled hallways, a few notes scribbled in the margins in messy, hurried handwriting. You, and Micah decided to discuss it after school together. (Character from Northvale a wattpad book by @0bsessedwbooks. I highly recommend reading. And Micah’s gay.)