The second year of high school wasn't supposed to feel different. The building was the same, the cafeteria still smelled like cardboard pizza and overcooked broccoli, and the bell still made Ethan wince like it had offended his ears personally. But something had shifted. Not in the halls or the classrooms—no, the change was in Ethan himself.
It was in the way Maya met him at his locker with a casual, "You get taller, or did I just shrink?"
In the way Gus bumped shoulders with him in homeroom and handed over a perfectly sharpened pencil like it was an act of brotherhood.
In the way Cher threw a shiny, peach-colored scrunchie around his wrist and declared, "It's for good luck. Also, because it clashes with your sweater and I'm deeply offended."
And Shawn—well, Shawn had opened his year by sliding across the newly waxed hallway tiles on a stolen lunch tray and shouting, "Let the chaos commence!"
They were a team now. An odd team, sure, but a real one. Over the summer, they'd spent hours at arcades and sleepovers, trading playlists, sneaking snacks into movies, and even doing one very ill-fated group karaoke night. But it was more than that.
They knew each other now.
Which is why, as they settled around their usual outdoor table for lunch on the second day of school, nobody needed to ask Ethan if something was on his mind.
"Okay, spill," Maya said, biting into her sandwich.
Ethan blinked. "What?"
"You're doing that thing where you squint at the grass like it offended you."
"It's not the grass," he said, then paused. "It's… my uncles. Mitchell and Cam."
"They're okay, right?" Cher asked, tilting her sunglasses down.
"Yeah, it's just…" He stirred the apple slices on his tray like they might spell out what he was trying to say. "The adoption. Of Lily."
"Oh, right," Maya said softly. She'd been there. The whole family reveal, Cam's entrance with the Lion King music, the stunned silence followed by chaos.
"She's really cute," Ethan continued. "But it's like… the whole family's different now. Everyone's orbiting around this tiny person. Even Alex is acting... softer."
"Babies do that," Gus said. "Shift the gravity."
"Yeah, but it also made me think…" Ethan frowned. "Am I really part of that gravity? Or just watching it happen?"
"You're not watching," Maya said firmly. "You're one of the planets."
"Or the sun," Cher added. "Although with your pale complexion, maybe the moon?"
Ethan gave a half-smile. "Thanks. I think."
"Come on," Shawn said, slapping the table. "You've always been in it. You just don't always notice until the solar system adds a new moon."
"That metaphor fell apart fast," Gus mumbled.
"But it was heartfelt," Maya said, nodding.
They sat in companionable silence for a minute, watching other students drift past. Then Jane arrived.
No dramatic entrance, no flair. Just her precise steps and unreadable expression, tray in hand. She took the empty seat next to Ethan without asking.
"You guys see the new lockers on the east side wing?" she asked.
Cher perked up. "The gray ones with the dumb vents? No aesthetic whatsoever."
"They weren't supposed to be installed yet," Jane said. "But they got delivered over summer break. Maintenance says they're still working out the numbers. A few aren't assigned."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "So?"
"So," Jane said, "I caught a seventh grader crying outside one. Claimed it was locked—but no one's supposed to be using it."
"Okay, but maybe he's just confused?" Maya offered.
"Sure," Jane said, "except he said he heard knocking."
That made them all pause.
Gus adjusted his glasses. "Knocking?"
"Like... someone was inside?" Ethan asked.
"I didn't hear anything," Jane said, shrugging. "But he swore. And here's the weird part—it was locker 327."
"Okay," said Cher. "Creepy number. Why?"
"Because," Jane said slowly, "there is no locker 327."
Silence fell over the table.
"I checked the map in the office," Jane continued. "They stop at 326."
"That's... weird," Maya admitted.
Shawn looked gleeful. "So we're talking ghost locker mystery?"
"It's probably nothing," Ethan said, but he felt a flicker in his chest. A mix of curiosity and unease.
"Or," Gus said, "it's a logistical error."
"Either way," Jane said, standing, "someone should check it out. If it's a real locker, the school needs to fix the records. If not… then someone's playing a trick. Either way, it's suspicious."
"You're already investigating, aren't you?" Ethan asked.
"I'm telling you because I think you might want in," Jane replied, then walked off.
The table remained silent for another beat.
Then Shawn leaned in. "Well. That's a plot hook if I ever heard one."
"We're not a book," Ethan muttered.
Cher grinned. "Oh, but we are. We're a five-character ensemble with great chemistry and a shared backstory. All we need now is an inciting incident."
"And a flashlight," Maya added.
They all looked at Ethan.
He sighed. "Fine. But no splitting up."
Shawn raised his pudding cup. "To the mystery of locker 327."
They clinked juice boxes and pudding lids.
The second year of high school was definitely going to be different. Ethan could feel it. In the closeness of his friends. In the way the world around him started to feel less like something to observe, and more like something he belonged in.
Something was waiting for them in that east wing.
And this time, Ethan wasn't just watching from the sidelines.
He was walking straight into it.