The feeling didn’t go away. Not the next day. Not the day after. It just stayed there quietly, like something I couldn’t shake off no matter how busy I tried to make myself. Classes. Dorm. Scroll. Sleep. Repeat. Even Chloe noticed something once. “You’ve been super quiet lately,” she said while packing her bag one morning. “Everything okay?” I nodded too quickly. “Yeah. Just tired.” She didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t push either. She just gave me that look people give when they decide not to pry. Then she left again. And I was alone. Again. By the end of that week, I stopped trying to pretend it was just tiredness. It wasn’t. It was something heavier. A quiet kind of loneliness that followed me everywhere, even when I was around people. Especially when I was arou

