In the shadows behind the auditorium, the air hung heavy with an eerie silence.
Hannah knelt on the cold floor, her head bowed, a flicker of confusion dancing in her eyes. On her left wrist, a black rubber bracelet laid ominously still, its timer pulsing with a sinister red glow, like the unblinking gaze of death itself.
"You're not the villain you've painted yourself to be." Cassandra's voice was low and calm, cutting through the silence like a blade.
Hannah looked up, forcing a mocking smile onto her face. "So what? Whether I'm bad or not, why do you care?"
"It matters," Cassandra said, stepping closer. She placed a hand on Hannah's shoulder, meeting her gaze squarely.
Her words sliced through Hannah's self-pity like a razor, cold and unrelenting. "What do you think you are? A prett
