The hallway earlier seemed shocked, parang nag-apocalypse.
The moment Sophie froze in front of me, the energy in the entire welcome area shifted. Students stopped walking. Others literally stepped back. Yung iba tahimik, yung iba nakanganga, and a few even took out their phones. May nakatutok na camera, may naka-video na. Lahat naghihintay kung ano ang susunod na mangyayari.
And in the eye of that storm, I stood straight. Calm. Unbothered. Composed in a way Diane-from-last-semester could never have imagined.
At the edge of my vision, I felt a presence before I even saw him.
Sevi.
He was there—quietly, steadily, like a constant heartbeat. He must have seen the commotion from afar and followed, because before I even turned, nakatayo na siya sa gilid ko, one hand casually in his pocket,
