When Ruby woke up, she was in her bed, still in her school uniform.
She sat up quickly, her heart racing as she looked down at herself. Was she going crazy?
It felt too real.
She pushed the thought away and went downstairs, where her mom was already in the kitchen.
"Mom? When did I come home?" Ruby asked.
Her mom turned, confused. "What are you talking about? You came home like an hour ago and said you were going to bed early. Anyway, how was school? Did Max help you on your first day?"
Ruby hesitated for a second. "Uhmm… yeah. He helped a lot."
But even as she said it, her mind wasn't there. Something felt wrong.
The next day, after school, Ruby walked out of the building, trying to act normal. The sky was starting to dim slightly, and students were slowly leaving in groups, their voices fading into the background. Everything looked the same as yesterday—the same halls, the same people—but she couldn't stop thinking about it. The van. The room.
Meanwhile, Max was heading out as well when he saw her near the front gates. He stopped immediately, his eyes dropping to her hand.
The ring was still on Ruby's hand
His chest tightened. That wasn't possible. He knew he had taken it. For a second, he wondered if he was the one losing it, but he still walked over.
"Hey," he said.
Ruby looked at him. "Oh… hey."
Max tried to act normal, but his eyes kept drifting back to the ring—a small flower-shaped mark carved into it, catching the fading light.
"Do you like my ring?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh… yeah. It's nice," Max said quickly.
Ruby narrowed her eyes slightly. Something felt off.
They started walking away from the school together, the noise of students getting quieter as they moved farther down the street. For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. Ruby's thoughts kept replaying everything from the night before, and before she could stop herself, she spoke.
She looked at Max's eyes and said.
"What are you?"
Max froze and slowly turned toward her. "What do you mean by that?"
"I know what happened last night," Ruby said, her voice quieter now.
Max stopped walking completely. "…About what?" he asked carefully.
"The van. The people. Don't act like you don't know!"
There was a long silence. Max stared at her, not surprised, not confused—just serious.
"That's my question," he said quietly. "What are YOU, Ruby?"
Ruby blinked, thrown off. "What do you mean? I'm a human."
Max shook his head slightly. "Then how did it not work on you?"
Ruby's chest tightened. "Work… what?"
Max didn't answer right away. His eyes flicked down to the ring, then back to her—and for the first time, he looked worried.