Juliette:
The soft hum of the plane’s engine buzzed in my ears as I stared out the small oval window, watching clouds shift like cotton pulled across a pale blue canvas. I exhaled, my breath fogging a tiny circle against the glass. I was on my way back to Ridgewood University—for the last time. Senior year.
It didn’t feel real yet.
The past summer had been a blur of bright lights, curtain calls, and adrenaline that refused to fade. Eight weeks, two shows a day, standing ovations, laughter, tears—Broadway. My name, Juliette Warner, printed on the program under Lead Role. My voice echoing across a packed house. And the moment the red velvet curtain fell for the final time that season, I cried. Not from sadness. From pride.
Because I had made it.
All the pain, all the betrayal, the heart
