The bell finally rang, dismissing the lingering crowd in the hallways. My locker door shut with a soft thud behind me, but the echoes of yesterday and the morning’s gossip still clung to my skin. Every glance felt heavier, every whisper sharper, yet somehow the chaos of Crescent High was familiar now, like a storm I was learning to navigate.
I tried to focus on my next class, forcing myself to ignore the quiet hum of my own pulse, but a strange tension clung to me as I walked. The day had been nothing but eyes and whispers, and I longed for a moment of solitude. Somewhere quiet, where Damian’s smirk and the cafeteria’s whispers couldn’t reach me. Somewhere I could breathe.
As if the universe had heard me, I found an empty corridor behind the science wing. A faint light streamed through t
