FOUR YEARS LATER
SIENNA
The final bell rang, and within seconds, the school corridors erupted into chaos.
Students poured from classrooms, laughing and talking as they made their way toward the exits. I was halfway down the corridor when someone suddenly threw an arm around my shoulders.
“Can you believe it?” Carla squealed beside me. “Sixteen today! How cool is it that we have the same birthday?”
I laughed, leaning into her.
“It is pretty cool.”
“Pretty cool?” She gasped dramatically. “Sienna, this is fate! How many best friends get to celebrate their sixteenth birthdays on the exact same day?”
“Probably not many.”
“Exactly!” she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.
I shook my head, laughing at her enthusiasm.
Sixteen.
The number felt strangely significant.
For years, I had b
