The ringtone cut through the silence, sharp and jarring against the tension that clung to the air.
Maya wasn’t sure if she was hoping Jamie would answer… or silently begging for it to go to voicemail.
Then the screen flickered—and a second later, Jamie’s face appeared. Sleep-mussed hair, a bowl of cereal clutched in one hand, and a bleary squint that screamed suspicion.
“Harper?” he blinked. “Why are you video calling me during lunch hours? Is Maya okay?”
Maya leaned in quickly, brows furrowing. “I’m fine, Jamie. Sorry—we’re just… having—wait, what are you eating?”
Jamie blinked, caught mid-bite. “Cereal. And chocolate chip cookies. Why?”
Before Maya could launch into big-sister mode, Harper swooped in like a hurricane of mischief.
“Oh, enough of you, Principal Maya!” Harper teased,
