ACIR HILLS
I was excited and anxious for today.
The moment Onda and I stepped through the front doors, the scent of brewed tea and freshly baked bread drifted through the reception area, mingling with the faint fragrance of lavender diffusers the staff always kept around the building. Warm afternoon sunlight poured through the large windows, illuminating polished wooden floors that had long since become comforting rather than intimidating.
Campus was exhausting. The Home Center wasn’t.
Here, nobody whispered behind my back. Nobody stared. Nobody cared about my grades or the mistakes I’d made. They simply welcomed me with smiles.
I invited Onda to come with me since she didn’t have any plans today. Being an alumni of Newford University, there weren’t many complications, and they appro
