By lunch, Kyle had confirmed three things:
One, Greywick High was louder than usual.
Two, Liz had barely spoken to anyone who wasn't him.
And three, the announcement board outside the main office now listed a Thursday assembly—even though it was still Tuesday.
Kyle leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs, and stared at the board through the cafeteria doors.
"You're going to fall," Liz said without looking up from her notebook.
"I'm a professional," he replied.
"You tripped over air yesterday."
"That was aggressive air."
She huffed a quiet laugh and immediately tried to hide it by flipping a page. Kyle smiled to himself. He counted it as a win.
Liz's notebook was open between them, filled with neat handwriting, arrows, boxes, and tiny question marks in the margins. Kyle had learned early on not to touch it without permission.
"What are we working on today?" he asked.
Liz tapped her pen against the paper. "Patterns."
"Love those."
"I'm serious." She slid the notebook slightly toward him. "Look. The siren. The announcements. The Archive's hours changed again."
Kyle scanned the page. "You've written 'again' four times."
"Because it keeps happening."
He nodded slowly. "Okay. That's weird."
Liz blinked. "You didn't argue."
"I'm growing."
She studied him for a moment, clearly suspicious, then returned her attention to the notebook. "Something's adjusting the town. Like it's… fixing mistakes."
Kyle tilted his head. "You're saying Greywick edits itself."
"Yes."
"That feels rude."
Liz smiled despite herself.
Across the cafeteria, a tray clattered to the floor. No one reacted. Kyle watched a group of students walk straight past the mess without even glancing down.
"Did you see that?" he asked.
Liz didn't look up. "Yes."
"And you're not concerned?"
"I am," she said. "I'm just used to being the only one who notices."
Kyle felt something twist in his chest at that. "You're not."
She paused.
Slowly, she looked at him.
Kyle didn't joke. Didn't smile. He just met her eyes.
The moment stretched—comfortable, heavy, important.
Then Liz cleared her throat and looked away. "After school," she said. "We go to the Archive."
Kyle grinned. "I thought you said not to ask about it."
"I didn't say we couldn't."
The final bell rang too soon.
They packed up and headed for the exit together, moving like they'd done it a hundred times before. Outside, the sky had shifted to a strange dull gray that didn't quite look like clouds.
Kyle stopped short.
The building across the street—the one with the bakery on the corner—had an extra window.
"Liz," he said quietly.
She followed his gaze.
Her breath caught.
"That wasn't there this morning."
Kyle glanced at her, heart picking up speed. "You saw it too?"
"Yes."
A thrill of fear and excitement rushed through him.
They weren't imagining things.
And whatever Greywick was doing now…
It wasn't trying very hard to hide it anymore.