Ben's Steady Hand

The hum of my laptop was usually a comforting sound, a familiar lullaby in my room. But lately, it felt like a buzzing, a tiny, insistent insect trapped inside my head, whispering about nano cents and digital guarantees. I’d been trying to shake it off, to focus on homework, on the real world that Ben always seemed so firmly planted in. But the cryptic message, that strange jumble of words and numbers, kept snagging my thoughts. It was like a loose thread on a favorite sweater, impossible to ignore.

I was staring at a math problem, the numbers blurring into meaningless shapes, when Ben’s name flashed on my screen. A video call. I clicked it, and his familiar, kind face filled the frame. He had that easy smile that always made me feel a little less tangled up.

“Hey, Alex,” he said, his voice warm and steady. “You’re looking a bit… frazzled. Everything okay?”