Melody
I exit Ben’s office, pulling the door behind me with a resounding click. I wrap my arms around myself and double over, feeling like someone hollowed out my torso and replaced it with frozen garbage. I cover my mouth as a sob begins to build up in my chest and dash down the short corridor, afraid that Ben might hear me and come out to check on me. I can cry later, I promise myself. And maybe have tacos and ice cream.
No one is in the main hallway anymore. I double-check left and right before coming out. My watch tells me it’s nearly four-thirty, so everyone on the campus, except for students and advisers signed up for after-school activities, would be long gone.
I rub my hands up and down my arms through my blazer. The coldness I’m feeling right now seeps through to the marrow of
