POV: Samira James
The bus pulled into the Saint Trenton High parking lot with a heavy hiss of air brakes. The transition from the wild, unscripted air of the mountains to the flat gray pavement of the school felt like a physical weight. I grabbed my backpack from the overhead rack, my movements stiff. Everything is different now. The silence between the Trenton District and the North Clearing had been filled with things I couldn't unlearn.
I stepped off the bus and felt the immediate shift in the atmosphere. The group was splintering back into their usual roles, but the hierarchy had been disrupted.
"There she is." Ashley's voice cut through the noise of slamming luggage bays. She was standing near the edge of the lot, flanked by Rita and Paris. She looked as polished as if she had spen
