Roni and Joey Chapter 39: Almost Normal

After the Hive had left, lunch returned to its usual rhythm. The six teens ate with as much casualness as they could manage, talking about classes, next weekend’s plans, and the various rumors drifting through the halls—everything except the one rumor hanging uncomfortably over their table.
Still, Roni couldn’t stop watching Joey.
From where she sat she noticed every small detail: the bouncing of his leg, the tightness in his smile, the way his laugh came just a little louder than usual. Each of them made her more uneasy.
It was obvious to Roni that the confrontation with the Hive had rattled him far more than he wanted the rest of the group to see.
This should be his chance to enjoy a little normalcy, Roni thought, laughing along with a joke Sophie made about a freshman who had tried flirting with her earlier.
Instead, he’s just as stressed as he was yesterday.
Luckily, Roni wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Zay had picked up on it too, and the way Roni’s eyes kept flicking toward Joey only confirmed what he suspected.
“Dude,” Zay said casually, pulling out his phone and leaning toward Joey. “Check this out. My abuelo found this at a junkyard and is restoring it. It’s a classic Ford coupe—like the one from Back to the Future.”
Joey’s eyes lit up instantly at the mention of one of his favorite franchises.
“Did he have to fight Biff for it?” Joey asked with a grin.
Zay laughed. “Nah, dude. My abuelo just went back in time, strapped a flux capacitor to it in the ’50s, and used a train to push it to eighty-eight. Child’s play if you think fourth-dimensionally.”
Both boys burst out laughing.
Roni couldn’t help smiling.
She wasn’t nearly as into movies as they were, but that didn’t matter. It was the first genuine reaction Joey had shown since Sabrina and her entourage walked away. It was just enough for Joey to forget his future for now and interact with the group like normal.
For the final moments of lunch, the group were all talking with each other, laughing with each other, poking fun at each other; it was as if it was just a regular day again.
The bell signaling the end of lunch finally rang out through out the school, and the students all began filing out of the lunch room, going into the halls to their respective classes to finish out the day.
Zay, Cam, and Sophie led the group out of the lunchroom, with Roni, Joey, and Lauren close behind. They headed toward the cluster of lockers where they all kept their things—a perk of being juniors who could choose where to store their stuff.
So,” Roni opened casually, looking at Joey as they walked, “what’s the plan, Stan? Any word from Mom and Dad?”
Shaking his head, Joey pulled out his phone to see if there was a reply.
“Nothing yet, but they’re probably busy. I mean, your dad’s a manager and your mom’s a desk worker. Not a lot of downtime in those jobs.”
“How would you know, Joey?” Lauren laughed, adjusting her ponytail. “I thought you didn’t make it to administrative work yet.”
Joey just stuck his tongue out at her. “I’ll have you know I’ve listened to both of the Hale monarchs and know exactly how busy they are.”
“It’s true,” Roni said with a laugh. “He practically drags it out of them. ‘Oh Mister Hale, oh Mrs. Hale, please tell me about your day of being normal folk’—Ow!”
Roni laughed again as Joey flicked her.
“Hey, forgive me for being a mature person and taking an interest in other people’s day. You could learn so much from me, Veronica. I’m a model child—Ow!”
Roni flicked him back, and all three teens laughed together as the group reached the lockers and began getting ready for the next class.
At the lockers, books were pulled from backpacks and swapped between classes. Papers shuffled, and jokes were tossed around about tardiness and the impossibility of focusing during the last stretch of the day.

Once everyone had what they needed, the group split off toward their next classes, leaving Roni and Joey alone in the hallway for a moment.

“Joey?” Roni asked carefully. “About what happened in the cafeteria…”

Joey shut his locker with a sharp slam and looked over at her, his brows knitting together.

“What about it?”

“I—I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. Or… at least know if you aren’t,” she said, her hand resting near her waist as she fidgeted with her thumbs.

Joey opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Looking at Roni, he could see the worry written across her face. It bothered him more than he expected.

It bothered him that he really was struggling.
That his best friend was upset because of him.
That soon he might be small enough to fit in her hand.
And that whatever leverage he once had to keep his friends out of the petty drama the popular cliques thrived on would soon disappear.

But lying about it—especially to Roni, the one person who had practically moved heaven and earth to keep him from ending up in some random home if things went badly—wouldn’t help either.

Joey sighed and glanced around the hallway to make sure no one was paying attention.

“No,” he admitted quietly. “I’m not alright.”

He leaned back against the lockers.

“I hate Sabrina. Like I’ve said before, looking at her is like…” He shook his head slightly. “Like looking at a version of me that never had someone like you around to keep me grounded.”

Joey paused, swallowing.

“And hearing her talk about… owning me. About me being the perfect little for her…”

He shuddered, as if someone had dumped ice water down his back.

“I don’t know. It just makes all of this feel real.” He let out a shaky breath. “When all I really want is to enjoy whatever time I have left as a normal person.”

The two stood there silently for a moment, before Joey shouldered his backpack and exhaled.

“I’ll text you when I hear back from yo–I mean mom and dad, okay?” he paused, biting his lip for a moment before adding, “And we can talk more about this later too, if you really want to, but I really just want some peace tonight. Cool?”

Roni studied him a moment, before nodding.

“Yeah, cool. I’ll see if I can get ahold of mom and dad too, okay?”

Roni and Joey gave each other a smile, before pounding knuckles and departing in the opposite direction to their respective classes, the normal hustle and bustle of the school halls dying out, noise levels just low enough for Roni to hear Joey having a coughing fit as he rounds the hallway corner towards his next class.

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