I swung on the charger cord, my tiny hands burning as I launched myself onto the desk. I landed hard, skidding across a crumpled Post-it note. The desk was a cluttered battlefield—pens like fallen trees, a coffee mug the size of a silo. Nate’s phone loomed ahead, its screen casting a cold glow. I was a speck in his world, but I’d made it this far.
Then, movement. Nate stirred on his bed, his lean frame unfolding as he stood. My heart leapt—he was coming! His footsteps shook the floor, each one a quake that rattled my bones. He loomed over the desk, a giant oblivious to my existence, his shadow swallowing me whole. I waved my arms, jumping, screaming his name, but my voice was a gnat’s whisper against the pulsing bassline of his music. He didn’t see me. He didn’t care.
Nate pulled out his chair and sat, the desk vibrating as his elbows landed inches away. Papers shifted, a pencil rolled, nearly crushing me. He hunched over a notebook, scribbling, his phone buzzing with notifications he ignored. I was right there, a foot from his hand, but to him, I was nothing. The music thumped, his pen scratched, and I stood frozen, my chest tight. I’d climbed a mountain to reach him, and he was still a million miles away. I had to make him notice—knock over a pen, tug his headphone cord, anything. But one wrong move, and I’d be a smear under his wrist. I took a shaky step forward, my eyes locked on the tangle of cables by his phone. This wasn’t over.
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