ADIINA’S POV
The warning sits like ice in my chest.
I fold the note with trembling fingers and shove it deep into my bag before anyone can see. My heart hammers so loud I’m sure someone will hear it.
Stay away from them if you value your life.
The words burn into my mind, cruel and absolute.
I force my expression to stay blank. Pretend to be the same old Adinna everyone knows. I laugh when my classmates joke, answer when the lecturer calls my name, but every movement feels fake, like I’m wearing someone else’s skin and trying to act normal inside it.
By the time class ends, my body aches from holding it all in. The walls feel too close, the air too heavy. I swear I can feel eyes on me, too many of them. When I turn, there’s nothing there. Just chatter, chairs scraping, people packing
