a P

y. But something had shifted inside me. The void he spoke of wasn' t empty anymore. It was hardening, solidifying into

ct, a wave of his hand dismissing us. "I have a meeting,"

Her eyes, once fluttering with feigned fragility, snapped open,

dripping with contempt. "Still haunting Garrison, are

que, their laughter echoing through the street. My blood ran cold. I recognized

em, a tall blonde named Tiffany, smirked. "Still

sdain. I instinctively recoiled, my body tensing, pr

sudden, suffocating rush. The school hall

ices loud enough for me to hear. "Doesn'

y meticulously organized locker would be emptied, my books thrown into the garbage. My art supplies, the o

udible. But they would just nod, their eyes distant, then say, "Elna, dear, are you sure you' re not ima

tened with blank faces. "Don' t make trouble, Elna," my mother would say. "Just ignore them

make myself smaller, invisible. I learned that seeking h

ho offered me a shared umbrella in the rain found his locker vandalized. A girl who complimented my drawings was o

llways, "accidentally" spill drinks on my clothes. One time, they dragged me into the girl' s locker room, forcing me to

d sneer, "she doesn' t eve

reats would appear on my phone. My home phone would ring, only to hear heavy breathing on the other end. I became an expert at

oys, pointing at me. Later that day, I was cornered in an empty stairwell, hands grabbing at me, crude w

shoving me roughly. "Still so boring,

r, was fixed on Katia. Her eyes, once again, held

id, gesturing grandly at th

sent. Paid? I had no money. The

ffany. "Let's show Elna what real shopping looks like

hes. I followed, my heart pounding. They began to pull clothes off the racks, de

'll look divine on me. What do you think?" She didn'

ith cautious smiles. They recognized Katia. They recognized th

Miss Smith?" one of them vent

... friend here will be taking care of the bill. She has excellent taste, don't you, Elna?"

arried weight. A name that opened doors, smoothed over unpleasantness, and s