Chapter 2 – Family Noise
Home wasn't quiet.
His mom was yelling at his little brother again about grades. His dad — barely home since the layoffs — was in the kitchen pretending to fix the sink that didn't need fixing. And his older sister, Tanya, was livestreaming makeup tutorials from her room, shouting brand names like war chants.
Tim dropped his backpack, grabbed an apple, and went straight to the window. From their tenth-floor apartment in East Haven, he could see the Weg orbital lights — blue streaks moving slow across the clouds.
"Don't stay up too late, Tim," his mom said, voice softening. "You still got work tomorrow."
Work. At the car wash. $9.50 an hour and tips if the weather was nice.
He bit into the apple and thought about how acting school wanted twelve thousand a semester.
His chest ached — not from the disease, just the weight of everything he couldn't reach.
Later that night, he flipped through old recordings on his cracked tablet. Ultra Buff again — mid-fight, saving civilians, camera zoomed on her face. Sweat dripping, eyes fierce, jawline sharp as a promise.
Then a reporter shouted, "Ultra Buff, rumor is you're dating one of your teammates — is that true?"
Her pause was just half a second too long.
"Next question."
Tim froze the frame on her expression. She looked sad. Lonely, even.
He whispered, "You don't have to be alone."
Then coughed until his throat burned.