Neither of them said it out loud.
But they both knew.
This would be the last day that felt ordinary.
Not the last day they'd see each other.
Not yet.
But the last day untouched by departure.
The last day where tomorrow still looked familiar.
So they treated it like any other day.
On purpose.
They met after school at the usual spot.
Kai arrived first.
Velithra found him leaning against the fence, pretending not to be checking the time.
"You're early," she said.
"You're late."
"I'm on time."
He smiled.
"Debatable."
They started walking without deciding where to go.
Same streets.
Same pace.
Same easy silence between conversations.
They stopped at the café they liked.
Ordered the same things.
Argued over who was paying.
Kai lost.
Again.
"This is financial manipulation," he said, handing over the money.
"This is consequences," Velithra replied.
They sat by the window.
Outside, people moved through the street like any other afternoon.
Nothing in the world looked different.
That almost made it worse.
Kai stirred his drink for no reason.
Velithra watched him.
"You're doing that thing again."
"What thing?"
"Thinking too loudly."
He looked up.
"I don't know what that means."
"It means I can tell."
He smiled faintly.
"Then stop being able to."
"No."
After the café, they walked to the field.
Of course they did.
Some habits become places you return to without asking why.
Kai dropped onto the grass.
Velithra sat beside him, then leaned back beside him a moment later.
The sky was bright, clear, almost unfairly calm.
"This feels weird," he said.
"What does?"
"Trying to act normal."
She turned her head slightly.
"Maybe this is normal."
He considered that.
Maybe it was.
Maybe normal had simply changed.
They stayed there for a long time.
Talking about nothing important.
A teacher they both disliked.
A movie neither of them had finished.
Whether cereal counted as soup.
(It did not.)
The laughter came easily.
That surprised them both.
Eventually, the sun lowered.
The light turned softer.
Everything around them looked like memory before it had even ended.
Kai sat up first.
Velithra followed.
Neither moved to leave right away.
"This was good," he said quietly.
She nodded.
"Yeah."
He looked at her.
"I'm glad we didn't make it dramatic."
She smiled faintly.
"There's still time for that."
He groaned.
"Please don't."
She laughed, then grew quiet again.
Not sad.
Just aware.
"This mattered," she said.
Kai held her gaze.
"I know."
No grand event.
No perfect final adventure.
Just coffee.
Walking.
Grass under the sky.
Their usual day.
And maybe that was the point.
Because what they would miss most—
was never the extraordinary moments.
It was this.
The ordinary things that became important because they were shared.
At her gate, they stopped like always.
Kai stepped closer, resting his forehead lightly against hers.
No rush.
No speech.
"See you tomorrow," he said.
This time it sounded different.
Velithra swallowed softly.
"Yeah."
Tomorrow.
The word felt heavier than it ever had before.