CHAPTER 21: WHAT LURKS BENEATH
POV: Ayoola Davis --- Monday came with no apologies. The corridors hummed with life like nothing had happened. Teachers walked past in pressed suits. Girls laughed in corners. Boys exchanged slaps and secrets. And yet — the weight of Saturday’s party clung to me like a second skin. I saw him in the hallway. Nate. He looked at me. Acting. Touched. Bothered. Sitting with his friends near the school’s admin office. There was no bruise on his face anymore. Someone had covered it up, or maybe he’d healed fast. Either way, the world hadn’t noticed. Or didn’t care. I looked away when our eyes met. --- Break came, and I disappeared to the rear end of the school where no one ever came — just the rusting storage unit, an abandoned generator shed, and a line of cracked pavement littere
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