Ray slipped his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and leaned back to stare at the cold, metal ceiling. The leathery bus seat felt chilly against the backs of his legs. A chorus of voices pervaded the bus; mostly discussions of summer break activities and the hatred for being awake so early on a Monday. Ray leaned against the window and glanced at the empty seats beside him. It seemed every seat at the back of the bus was filled except for the ones directly next to him. He felt like an intruder.

While he enjoyed his final few weeks of summer spent hanging with Cameron and talking with Jonah, those weeks still came with pockets of loneliness. Drawing was a nice  distraction, but it sometimes wasn’t enough to fill the hours upon hours of boredom, especially once Jonah started school a whole week before him. There were only so many times he could masturbate in a single day before his penis got to the point where it was too sore to be worth it.

After the last batch of kids loaded in from the final pickup stop, the bus’s engine roared to life. Alone in his seat, he hoisted his backpack up beside him now that it was clear he would be sitting alone. He unzipped it and took out his trusty sketchbook—his only companion that was always there for him—and flipped to the page with the small map he’d drawn of his new school. It wasn’t a complicated map, but he still studied it intently. If he couldn’t socialize on the bus, he might as well eliminate the stress of getting around his new school by memorizing its layout. He also ran through his locker combination a bunch more times, even though he’d already spent the previous night drilling it into his head.

After feeling a little more confident with his mental map, he decided to draw himself, alone in the bus seat. Even though his parents assured him he would make friends quickly, he was doubtful it would be that easy. Sure, making friends was effortless for him at camp, but school was an entirely different setting. Camp was temporary, but school was forever. All it would take was one screw-up and he’d forever be the weird one, just like how people saw him in his elementary school.

The bus drew up to the large, imposing brick building, and he shrunk into his seat and dejectedly put away his sketchbook. He followed all the kids filing out of the bus and kept his head low as he walked towards the entrance of the school, clutching the straps of his backpack with whitened knuckles. He glided past the sea of kids walking together in small clumps like schools of fish and entered the building. It’d been a long time since he set foot in a school, and the sights were entirely different now. A sea of students filled long hallways, lined with rows of lockers and classroom doors. Following the map in his head, he made his way down the hall to his locker and deposited a load of textbooks and other supplies from his backpack before heading to homeroom.

His homeroom class had much bigger desks than he’d ever known, and he quietly sat down at one towards the back of the class. Before long, his homeroom teacher, Mr. Blake, entered the classroom with a tucked-in dress shirt and nicely combed hair, carrying a thermos of coffee. After settling all the kids down and a brief introduction, he introduced Ray as a new student, along with two other girls.

“Ray comes from Canada,” he explained. Ray stood next to him before the class, countless tired eyes staring at him like creepy fish in the depths of the ocean. “You might learn a lot about our upstairs neighbor if you get to know him. Do you play hockey, Ray?” Ray shook his head. “That’s too bad,” he said and dismissed Ray back to his seat.

Ray’s first morning was blocked out with the typical classes: Math, English, and Science, where not much happened besides the presentation of the class syllabuses and seat assignments, although Mr. Nilis, the math teacher, did assign homework to the disgruntled muttering of the students. By the time lunch rolled around, Ray’s brain was fried, and his stomach rumbly.

The cafeteria was a large room with the lunch line nestled in the corner and long tables arranged throughout. Large windows overlooked an outdoor courtyard, which seemed to have its own smaller assortment of tables. Ray exited the line with a tray of food, a knot forming in his stomach as he contemplated where to sit. He circled the room a few times before finding a table of approachable-looking boys, and casually set his tray down.

“Hello, I’m Ray,” he said, sitting at the last seat on the very edge of the table.

One of them grunted in response, and another boy whose appearance reminded him of Jonah said hello. The boy sitting beside him leaned back, seeming to look at something on Ray’s back.

“You have something on your back,” he said to Ray.

Ray reached over his shoulder and found a post-it note stuck to his back, and ripped it off. Ask me about my mouth, it read. Kids still did this kind of prank? Embarrassed and confused, he crumpled it up and stuffed it into his hoodie pocket before resigning to quietly eat his lunch. For the rest of the period, it was like he didn’t exist to the other kids at the table.

“I don’t feel good,” Ray said, poking the bland mashed potatoes on his plate with a fork.

“So what are you saying?” his mom asked from her chair, giving him a doubtful eyebrow raise.

“I think I should stay home tomorrow,” he replied, attempting to make his voice sound meek and hoarse.

“Ray, you haven’t given it a chance at all,” his dad said, rubbing his eyes. “You don’t need to fake being sick.”

“It’s not faking! I have a sore throat.”

“Come here,” his mom said, beckoning to him. Reluctantly, he got up and went over to her, and she placed a hand on his forehead. Even though it was totally exposing his lie, the warmth of her hand still made him feel secure and protected. “You’re fine. Now eat.”

“I’m not going,” Ray said firmly, stomping back and plopping down in his seat.

“You think you can just quit school?” his dad laughed.

He ignored him and turned to his mom. “Can we please go back to homeschooling again?” he begged.

“No, Ray. I have work,” she said. “Everything will be okay, you just need to give it more than one day.”

“But nobody even wants me there!”

“Well, sure they do, you just need to give them a chance to get to know you,” she said. “Show them your drawings.”

“But mom, nobody—”

“I don’t want to hear it, Ray. Every kid goes through this, you’re not any different. Now come on and eat your dinner, your mashed potatoes are getting cold.”

Ray groaned and slunk into his chair. It’s like they wanted him to suffer. Well, if they wanted him to be miserable, too bad, he had a secret weapon against that. After dinner, Ray excused himself and headed straight for the bathroom where he locked the door and stripped down to his underwear. Peeking at himself in the mirror, he shuddered. God, his old white briefs were so lame. He was twelve, why couldn’t his parents buy him some boxer briefs or something? At least Jonah still wore briefs so he wasn’t completely alone.

He drew a bath, sitting on the toilet lid and watching the tub fill with water. Ugh, water. At least he knew this water wouldn’t hurt him. When it was full enough, he peeled off his briefs and stepped into the hot water, slowly getting used to the heat as he sank lower and lower. Letting out a sigh of relief, he idly cleaned his arms and chest with a washcloth as his mind once again drifted to Jonah. What would it have been like growing up with him? Jonah always made it sound like his mom was a lot better than Ray’s.

Reaching under the water, he scrubbed his balls with the cloth. He still hadn’t developed at all. Cameron said he should be on the lookout for hair and sperm, but so far he hadn’t seen even a hint of either. He pulled back his foreskin so he could dab at the flesh underneath, and the stimulation was enough to give him an erection. Letting go, it throbbed upward until it breached the water all on its own. There it was: his secret weapon.

He tugged it, letting out a sigh as the nice feelings washed over him just like the tub’s warm water did. In his mind, he pictured girls’ breasts like Jonah had described to him until he felt pleasantly aroused. Careful to suppress the watery sounds his hand could make if he wasn’t careful, he slowly and nimbly brought himself to a powerful dry orgasm, biting his lip as he grunted, his penis throbbing warmly between his fingers, then sank into the welcoming water as his thoughts returned to his otherwise miserable situation.

Ray approached the lunch tables with his tray of a chicken sandwich, an apple, and a small carton of milk. He was already halfway through the week, yet he had still found no one that reciprocated his friendliness, even when he tried his hardest to strike up a conversation. Even other kids that seemed weird weren’t interested in him. He needed a new approach.

Changing course, he pushed open the big double doors with his shoulder and stepped into the small courtyard at the center of the school. It wasn’t the most pleasant outdoor location; concrete walls towered around him, lined with windows and air-conditioning units. The kids sitting at the few scattered picnic tables turned to get a glimpse of the intruder before returning to their lunch. One of the kids, however, didn’t look away.

“Holy shit, that’s him!” he shouted, pointing at Ray.

Ray stiffened and gripped his tray anxiously. Was he about to get beat up?

He checked his back for another sticky note, but there was nothing there, then glanced over his shoulder but saw only a trash can. The boy was marching over to him now, his face somewhere between uncertain and surprised.

Ray gulped. “Me?” he asked, tapping his chest.

“Oh my God, yes! It is you!” the boy cried, grabbing Ray by the wrist. For a moment, Ray thought it might be Robby, but Robby was undoubtedly too young for middle school. He did have similar short blonde hair, a slender figure, and tanned skin, but a lot of kids in the area seemed to hold that description as well. “You have to sit with us, Ray!” he said with an uncomfortable familiarity, dragging Ray back towards his table.

Why did this kid know his name? Ray set down his tray and nervously slid into the seat. Two other blonde boys sat at the other end of the table, watching him. The boy let go of Ray and sat down beside him, cradling his head in his hands.

“Um, what about me?” Ray asked, the three pairs of eyes searing into him.

The boy sighed, then asked in an awestruck tone, “What was it like?”

“Huh? What was what like?” Ray replied, wondering if this was a prank.

“With Paris!” he clarified, nudging Ray with his eyes to go on.

“What?” Ray shouted, his heart nearly thumping out of his chest. Did this boy know about the night at the lake? How could he possibly know about that? “How do you—who are you?”

“Oh my God,” the boy said, rolling his head dramatically. “You really forgot about me. I’ll give you a hint. I’m fucking radiant!”

One of the boys across from them who looked like a stereotypical surfer burst out laughing. He had the same tanned skin, but longer, fluffier, and sandier blonde hair. Ray tried to remember if he’d met anyone in Clearwater, but really he’d only ever interacted with Robby. He then thought back to camp, and that’s when it clicked.

“Oh,” Ray said as he replayed a forgotten memory. “You’re that kid from camp, who drew a—”

“‘That kid’?!” the boy cried and pretended to cry into his wrists. “Don’t you remember my name, Ray Marlow?”

“Um… Luke?” Ray guessed, wincing.

The boy held up an open palm at Ray and leaned away. “Oh my God, don’t talk to me.”

“But—”

“Shhh!”

Ray looked to the other boys for support. “What is he talking about?”

The boy with long, thin, shoulder-length platinum blonde hair and delicate facial features like a porcelain doll cleared his throat. “Lucas thinks you gave the celebrity boy a blowjob,” he explained with a funny accent, unidentifiable to Ray as Swedish.

“What?” Ray yelled, somewhat relieved but now more confused. “I don’t even have whatever that is!” Lucas and the surfer boy burst into laughter, and Ray narrowed his eyes at them. “What’s so funny?”

The surfer boy picked up a banana from his tray. Unlike the rest of them at the table, Ray noted he had a peanut butter and jelly lunch instead of the standard chicken sandwich. “It’s when you go like this,” he said, rolling his eyes up and moaning loudly as he licked around the tip of the banana before plunging it in and out of his mouth. 

Ray was mortified. “I never did that!” he squealed. “I never did anything like that! Eugh!” he said, nearly gagging.

“Told ya,” the platinum blonde mumbled to Lucas between bites of his sandwich.

Lucas furrowed his brows at him. “Well, if it’s not true, then why did he get suspended from camp, hmmm?” Lucas asked, pointing at Ray, then turned to him. “The counselors wouldn’t tell us what happened. What happened?” he demanded.

“I—it’s—it’s complicated!” Ray huffed and brushed a loose lock of hair out of his eyes. It was difficult to defend himself without knowing what and how this kid knew.

“Just tell us what his cock was like! You obviously know and it’s rude to keep that information from us!” Lucas pleaded, holding up his hands.

Ray gasped and covered his mouth. First of all, “cock” was not a good word to say, but more importantly, “What?! Why the crud would you want to know that?”

“Did he have abs?” the surfer boy asked dreamily, lost in thought. “Or pubes?”

Ray bit his lip. These kids were so carelessly obscene! On one hand, he did know the answers and could impress them with his knowledge if they genuinely did want to know, but on the other, admitting to anything might make these boys think he was gay or something, which he knew he wasn’t.

Before he could answer, the surfer boy continued. “Did he put it in your butt?”

“No!” Ray said. At least that he could refute without lying.

“Dang,” the boy said, seeming to deflate a little. “I’m trying to get my boyfriend to do that.”

“Uhhh, what?” Ray said.

Lucas groaned. “Don’t listen to Nico, he’s convinced he’s dating this hot college stud,” he said, his hands animating like a gossiping housewife.

“I so am!” Nico yelled back, frazzled.

What was up with these kids? Why did Lucas want to know about Paris’s penis? Did Nico actually have a boyfriend? And why did they think he put Paris’s thing in his mouth? So many questions, all sprung on him at once.

“Yeah right,” Lucas said, shaking his head. “Sir, you’re twelve. Guys that old that aren’t interested in us.”

“Yeah they are, idiot!” Nico said, breaking off a piece of banana and chucking it at him.

“Hey!” Lucas yelled, batting it away.

“Hold on,” Ray said, putting it all together. “Are you all… gay?”

“Yes!” Lucas and Nico shouted in inadvertent unison.

The platinum blonde yawned. “Not me,” he said apathetically.

“‘Not me’ my ass,” Lucas countered. “Finn, you’re the only boy in the entire grade with painted nails. The only one!”

“Yes, but that’s because it’s fun and expressive,” Finn said, flashing his baby-blue nails, “and not because I’m a fucking gay,” he said. Ray suppressed a snicker at Finn’s silly accent and pronunciation of “fah-king”.

Lucas scoffed. “Damn right it’s expressive! It expresses that you crave dick.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “You are disgusting. I don’t know why I put up with you psychos.”

Ray, meanwhile, couldn’t believe that there were openly gay kids at his school! Cameron would think that was so crazy.

“So what did you do with Paris, huh?” Lucas asked, turning his focus back to Ray. “Everyone was saying stuff happened between you two, and it’s obvious that Paris loves boys if you’ve ever been on his Instagram.”

“Nothing happened!” Ray insisted.

“Then why did your entire cabin get the boot?”

Ray sighed. He could admit to the drugs and be done with it, but if Lucas and Nico really were gay, was there actually any harm in telling them the whole truth? “Okay, fine, something did happen.”

“OMG,” Lucas said, leaning forward. “What.”

“But I’m not gay, okay? So don’t tell anyone.” Lucas and Nico were listening intently, while Finn looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. He lowered his voice. “We, um, masturbated together.”

“I knew it! You did see his cock!” Lucas said triumphantly, swiping his finger in a horizontal motion and swiveling around to Finn. “Told you!” he said, grinning smugly. Finn rolled his eyes.

“No way!” Nico drawled, beaming at Ray. “Lucky! Did he have hair?”

“A little,” Ray said. He thought about telling them about the strange tattoo but decided it was too much of a rabbit hole to bring up.

“Was he big?” Nico asked with a toothy smile.

Ray thought back to the moment Paris pressed their penises together. “Um, I think mine was bigger,” he said.

Lucas’s eyes widened and he looked away.

Nico leaned forward. “Then… how big are you?” he asked, looking him in the eye.

Even Finn was paying attention now through the corner of his eye. Ray fidgeted, uncomfortable with all the attention, though he did know the answer and did want to brag. After a brief hesitation, he answered. “Eleven centimeters,” he said, letting a little smile slip out.

“Huh?” Nico said, scratching his head. Lucas looked equally confused; this wasn’t the reaction Ray was hoping for.

“That’s about four-and-a-half inches, you stupids,” Finn said, shaking his head disappointedly.

“Cool!” Nico said, his interest renewed.

“Shut up Finn, you’re such a nerd. Nobody normal knows how to convert that,” Lucas said.

Finn gave him the evil eye. “You are so brain-damaged, but what can you expect from a Leo?” he mumbled to himself.

Lucas placed his hand on Ray’s shoulder. “Damn, four-and-a-half fucking inches? That’s stunning.”

“I’m only four inches,” Nico said dejectedly and tugged at his chino shorts.

Lucas scoffed. “No one asked, Nico,” he said, then scooted closer to Ray. “So, I guess if you didn’t blow him, but did he at least blow you?”

“No, we didn’t do that kind of stuff! I’m not gay.”

“Ugh,” Nico whined, “you’re still so lucky. Well, we can get you a blowjob, then you’ll probably become gay.”

Lucas slammed his fist on the table. “You can’t become gay, you chode,” he said like this was an argument they’d already had before.

“Yeah you can!” Nico fired back. “If the blowjob’s good enough.”

“That’s okay,” Ray assured him. “Um, I’m good. It sounds kinda weird anyway.”

Nico shrugged and began picking the crust off his second triangle of sandwich. “Your loss. It’s literally the best thing ever.”

Ray glanced around the half-empty courtyard. Lunch seemed to have just flown by. The boys finished up their lunches and went off to prepare for their respective classes. Ray was smiling as he walked back into the cafeteria by himself. Finally, he’d met some kids who might want to be friends. Maybe his parents were right after all. He just hoped they actually wanted to be friends with him and weren’t just using him to learn about Paris.

“Click, click, click, and post! Drip-drip-dripped, in gold! Quick, quick, quick, let’s go! Kiss me and take off your clooothes!”

“Will you shut up?!” Finn growled at Lucas, glancing around the gymnasium to make sure no one was looking at them. “You are damaging my ears. God, it’s like being partnered with a fourteen-year-old girl.”

“Wouldn’t you like that, straighty-pants?” Lucas said, digging his nails into Finn’s ankles. Finn yelped and kicked at him, then resumed his sit-ups with a guarded vigilance. “Knew you were perfect, after the first kiss, took a deep breath like, ‘hoo!’” Lucas continued at a quieter volume.

Finn sighed. “Asshole.” Lucas was annoying, but at least Finn wasn’t partnered with some random kid. “So, you have a crush on this new boy?” he asked, hoping to quell the singing.

Lucas stopped singing. “What, Ray? Come on,” he said dismissively, but Finn persisted. 

“You like him. Don’t play games, mister,” he teased.

“What makes you think I like him?” Lucas asked seriously.

“Because you are as hard to read as Dr. Seuss,” he said, and Lucas snorted dismissively. “You should have seen your face when he said he had a big penis.”

“Okay, but, that’s like, hot, so, shut up,” Lucas said, attempting to cover his blushing cheeks.

“It is absurd that anyone believes it is hot or impressive when someone has a larger appendage than another person.”

“Yeah well, you obviously don’t fuck,” Lucas said, flipping his hair back.

“Ya, and you don’t either. We are middle schoolers.”

Lucas glanced across the room at Nico, who was holding Ray’s ankles as he did his sit-ups. “You think Nico does?” he asked quietly. “I don’t buy all this ‘boyfriend’ baloney.”

“I don’t really care,” Finn answered with a roll of his eyes. “Now switch, it’s your turn.”

Lucas nodded and got on his back, then glanced back over at the other two. Ray scrunched his face as he leaned forward, reaching for his toes, while Nico seemed to be talking spiritedly. Lucas wondered if Ray was telling the truth about what lived inside his gym shorts, or if he was yet another prepubescent boy trying to impress.

Ray tapped his toes as he let out a heavy, exhausted breath. “Twenty-six!”

“Alright, so when do you want to do that blowjob?” Nico excitedly interrupted.

Ray crunched forward again, his face straining. “That again? Um, I’m good, really.”

Nico scoffed. “I’ve literally never heard anyone say no to a free blowjob.” He waited for Ray’s reply, but Ray didn’t respond. “That’s like saying no to free candy,” he continued.

“Aren’t you supposed to say no to free candy?” Ray said, squinting and letting his head bump against the hard linoleum floor. “Wait, is that how you have a boyfriend in college?”

Nico chuckled. “If hot guys offered me candy all the time, I’d have a million boyfriends by now,” he said, then began rubbing his thumbs against the back of Ray’s ankles.

“What are you doing?” Ray asked, reflexively trying to pull his legs away.

“Relax, it’s just a massage. It’ll release tension in your legs so you can do sit-ups better.”

Ray couldn’t imagine how Nico squeezing him could possibly help him ‘do sit-ups better’, but he wasn’t going to argue. Besides, he didn’t want to scare one of his new friends away by being rude. He finished the last of his sit-ups while Nico massaged him, then collapsed onto his back with a grunt. “Whew!”

“My turn!” Nico yelled, throwing himself onto his back before launching into rapid-fire sit-ups. “One, two, three, four, five…”

Ray reached for Nico’s ankles to keep him steady and discovered he could see right up his loose gym shorts to his bare thighs. He turned away, but a strange curiosity was drawing him back. Almost reluctantly, his gaze traversed up Nico’s leg, crossing the tan line and heading into the depths of his dark blue gym shorts where he saw much paler skin. It was dark in there, but Ray couldn’t see any sign of underwear, and in fact, he could swear he could see the outline of—he flushed red and looked away.

On the other side of the gym, he saw Lucas doing his sit-ups, while Finn was kneeling on his shoes, making an expression like he was on the verge of committing assault. Lucas turned his head and saw Ray looking at him, smiled, and waved. Ray blushed even harder and waved back. What was going on with him?

A teenage boy and girl were making out on a bench, wrapped in each others’ arms. Ray watched from the bus window, recalling the time he did the same with Paris. He remembered the sweet taste of cherry and wondered how a girl’s mouth might taste. Would it feel different from kissing a boy? He realized he was getting a boner, and pushed away the thought.

“And that’s why Paige is the nastiest ho in Clearwater,” Lucas concluded, reminding Ray that he was in the middle of a conversation.

He nodded for the one-hundredth time in the last ten minutes and faked another smile. “Sure.”

“Right? So good thing my younger sister Bella is at least sorta fun. We like to listen to music together in my room. Paige always screams through the wall for us to turn it down though. Not that we’re gonna, because she has AirPods so like it’s not even bothering her? She just wants to make it a big deal because she’s annoying and sucks. Siblings, right?”

Ray was happy to have new friends, but sheesh, Lucas never stopped talking. He could barely think between the barrage of questions and stories. “Right,” he said.

“Right?! So like, question, what kind of music do you like?”

“Um, I don’t really listen to music.”

“Oh,” Lucas said, then reached into his backpack and pulled out a cylindrical tin. “Here,” he said, offering a small yellow dot to Ray.

“What is it?”

“It’s lemon, you’ll like it.”

Ray thought back to his conversation with Nico about free candy but felt assured that Lucas wasn’t going to kidnap him or anything. “Thanks,” he said and popped the sweet and sour candy in his mouth.

As he sucked on it, he contemplated telling Lucas about the time Mr. Strawberry Man took on the Lemon Lackeys in his comic from a few years back, but didn’t want to risk sounding dorky in front of his new friend; things were going well and he didn’t want to screw it up.

Lucas smiled upon hearing the soft sound of the candy scraping against Ray’s teeth. “So, like, wanna come over this weekend?” he asked. “I wanna show you some music you might like. Plus, Paige won’t bother us ‘cause she don’t mess with me when cute boys are around.”

“Cute?”

“Yeah, cute!”

Before Ray could muster a response, the bus hit a bump, and Ray fell against Lucas, smashing his cheek against Lucas’s bony shoulder. Embarrassed, he tried pulling away, but Lucas wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer.

“Awww, you like being called cute, huh?” Lucas teased.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Ray said and shuddered. His new gay friends certainly liked to touch him—kinda like Paris did.

“Why’re you shivering? You didn’t answer my question!”

When he started touching Ray’s face and hair, Ray pulled away and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “I don’t know. I’ve never been called that.”

“No shot!” Lucas said incredulously.

Ray wasn’t sure what else to say, so turned and looked out the window. The bus was stopped, and he stared at two crows that were roosting in a tree. They were looking his way, almost like they were watching him, and he stuck his tongue out at them. Lucas watched him amusedly, drawn to the way the orange sunlight highlighted the edges of his chestnut-colored hair and ashen skin from behind. He wanted to know more about the mysterious Ray, with his quiet and modest ways, but also if he was telling the truth about his huge dick.

Lucas got off at the next stop, and after sharing goodbyes, Ray hoisted his backpack up onto the seat and took out his sketchbook. Excitedly, he sketched his new friend Lucas sitting next to him where he had drawn himself sitting alone. He had never known a person as flamboyant as Lucas. Lucas seemed to exude a confidence Ray wished he could have. Next, he drew Nico, who was also a little weird, and Finn, whom he mostly knew so far as that grump in the corner.

It was his first day not feeling so alone, and it was all thanks to the untrue rumor about him and Paris. All of these amazing developments in his life seemed to stem from that strange night at the lake. His world seemed much brighter now that he knew how to jerk off and had friends who liked talking about that stuff. The idea of a blowjob still freaked him out, though; that, and playing with his butt as Cameron had once brought up seemed too gross for him.

There were only five other kids still on the bus when it reached its final stop. Ray started putting away his things into his backpack when he noticed something black on the ground in the aisle and leaned over to pick it up. It was some kind of card. He glanced around to see if anyone had dropped it, but he was the only one left at the back of the bus.

Turning it over, his eyes widened and he gasped. There, in the center, etched in gold, was the symbol: the broken circle with the dot in the middle, with the number 2261 underneath it, also in gold. Did Lucas drop it? Could he be a part of the Omen Rose club? It wasn’t that far-fetched; Lucas was also at the camp and seemed to have some sort of fascination with Paris. 

Ray tucked the card into his pocket and hurried off the bus, watching the other students scatter off in different directions toward their homes through the window. This was huge news—the symbol was a real thing, not just a temporary tattoo or something like he and Jonah had speculated after Jonah failed to find anything about the Omen Rose online. 

He took out the card and rotated it in his hand, sunlight shimmering off the gold. What could the card possibly be for? What was the number? The bus drove away, disappearing around the corner, leaning Ray standing alone at the bus stop. In the distance, crows cawed mockingly.