Cleo
“Hi. I’m Ava.”
The girl sitting beside me smiled.
“Cleo,” I replied, returning her smile.
“You’re new here, huh?”
“Yeah.”
She had a warmth about her that immediately made me feel at ease.
Maybe too much at ease.
After everything I’d been through, trusting people wasn’t something that came naturally anymore. Every instinct inside me screamed to keep my distance, keep my guard up and never let anyone get close enough to hurt me.
But Ava didn’t feel threatening.
If anything, she felt… safe.
“You sure know a lot about cells,” she blurted out suddenly.
I stared at her.
Then she laughed.
I couldn’t help laughing with her.
“I guess I do.”
“I could barely remember what a mitochondria was.”
“Most people can’t.”
“Clearly.”
We both laughed again.
For the first time since arri
