Trying to pick up the pieces
Traya had... not been in a good place, ever since the Blackest Night had ended and people had returned to life.  She'd barely gotten used to the idea that Jai had been dead when he'd come back, first as a zombie, and then for real.  She'd been prepared to pick the pieces of their relationship back up where they'd left them, only...

Only it hadn't worked.  All the hurtful things, the things he'd said, that he'd accused both her and Michael of...  She didn't know how to wrap her mind around it.  Michael was a friend, nothing more.  A shoulder to cry on when she'd been at her worst, but not someone who could come close to taking Jai's place in her heart.

And then, to find out that Michael thought of her as more than that, that the accusations weren't entirely baseless...  She really didn't know how to deal with that.

So she'd thrown herself into what work she could.  She'd managed to pass her classes, in spite of all the chaos, probably owing more to a good memory and a superior to baseline intelligence to start with that anything else.  Maybe she'd have her head together by the time the next school year started.

The move back to NYC from Metropolis for the summer had taken a little time; it was good to get out of the place where she and Jai had become so close...

Storms and tornadoes in the South had provided another distraction.  Working with her father, they'd turned back some of the worst of the storms, and helped pick up after the ones they couldn't.  It was good work, work she could throw herself into and focus solely on that.  It was terrible that it took other people being in life or death situations for her to get her mind off her own problems.

The occasional spell of monitor duty for the League, and fortunately few emergencies had helped, though Michael avoiding her was probably a good thing.

She'd nearly called Jai dozens of times.  But could never dial the last number.  Couldn't do it.

Her parents, needless to say, were worried about her.

She needed to get out of the house.  She needed excitement and fun and irresponsibility.

She called Petra.