Brooke said

“Yo, I’ve been trying to talk to you all day,”

Isaiah said, clearly frustrated.

“I’ve been calling and texting. I even left a voicemail. You know I don’t leave voicemails.”

Brooke sighed. “I don’t even have my phone right now.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m surprised you don’t know. There was a meeting last night. Me, your mom, and my mom.”

Isaiah froze. “What meeting?”

“Your mom texted my mom and told her to come over and bring you. They were talking about Valentine’s Day… about you being at my house.”

Isaiah shook his head. “So that’s why she took my phone? I thought we were past that.”

“My mom said she caught us coming down the stairs. They were asking me a bunch of questions.”

“What did you tell them?” Isaiah asked quickly.

“I told them the truth — we were watching a movie.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes. They were acting like we were doing something else, but we weren’t.”

Isaiah sighed. “My dad didn’t even say much. He was calm. I thought I was off the hook.”

“My mom was not calm,” Brooke said. “She was talking about responsibility, about not wanting to be a grandmother. It turned into a whole scene.”

Isaiah looked confused. “Nobody said anything to me. Maybe they don’t know everything.”

“Or maybe they’re waiting,” Brooke replied.

Isaiah rubbed his face. “Now I’ve got no phone. No way to talk to you. She’s saying I’m not focused, bringing up basketball practice and everything.”

Brooke shook her head. “This whole thing feels like a setup.”

There was a pause.

“So what now?” Isaiah asked.

“I don’t know,” Brooke said quietly. “But if they’re not saying anything else… maybe we shouldn’t either.”

Isaiah nodded. “I just came out of class looking for you. I didn’t know what was going on.”

“Now you do.”

They stood there for a moment, both realizing that what seemed small to them had become a much bigger issue at home.

“Alright,” Isaiah said finally. “I gotta get back to class.”

“Yeah,” Brooke replied. “Me too.”