Chloe’s schedule was a masterpiece of control.
Color blocks. Time slots. Snacks, rest, creativity – all in strict order. It was her way of making sure the day didn’t dissolve into chaos.
For seven minutes, reality obeyed the plan.
Then Maria turned the schedule into a paper airplane and launched it. The perfect day took off, looped once, and crash-landed under the couch.
Once, this would have been the moment Chloe’s nervous system exploded: anger, shouting, that hot flush behind the eyes that says “I’m losing control.”
This time, she stared at the couch… then at Maria.
That day, the story shifted: from “Chloe versus chaos” to “Chloe and chaos, co-directing the scene.”
“New rule,” she said slowly. “Maria is responsible for surprises. I’ll plan around them.” She didn’t just edit her schedule. She rewrote her role.
