Chapter 176

​The clock on the classroom wall is ticking with agonizing slowness, each movement of the black minute hand feeling like a personal attack to my sanity. The entire day has been an exercise in absolute misery, a masterclass in pretending that my entire world didn’t implode less than twenty-four hours ago in my own bedroom.

I sit at my desk, propping my chin up with one hand while flipping through a textbook I haven’t actually read a single line of, trying to maintain the classic, untouchable Lucia Reid façade.

​Beside me, Priya, Emma and Chloe are whispering about some upcoming weekend plans. I can feel their eyes on me every few minutes, tracking the way I’m barely touching my pens or how I haven’t made a single sarcastic comment about our history teacher’s terrible toupee. They clearly suspect that something is deeply wrong, especially after the locker room disaster yesterday, but thankfully they respect my boundaries enough not to push for details while we are surro