Samira's POV
The high school hallway felt significantly louder than usual.
It wasn't because the decibel level had actually increased, but because my own internal radar was tuned to a frequency I couldn't seem to shut off. Every sudden burst of laughter echoed a little longer in my ears; every frantic whisper felt like it was shaped around my name, even when I knew logically that the world didn't revolve around me. Ever since my birthday, the atmosphere had changed. It wasn't a sudden, dramatic transformation, no grand scenes or cinematic revelations; just a series of small, heavy things stacking on top of one another until they became impossible to ignore.
I leaned back against the cool, dented metal of my locker, mimicking the casual stance of someone who was deeply invested in their
