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reminder of the D emblazoned on her test paper, staring back at her with accusing red ink. It was a familiar sight, the Ds and C

over textbooks, scribbling frantic notes, yet her mind remained a tangled mess, resisting every attempt at underst

u need to be more like your sister." Katherine squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shut out the words th

ecessary. She wished she could just disappear, erase the humiliation, the co

, Ka

oom. Katherine turned, trying to muster a smile, her own voic

uncing in twin pigtails, her big brown eyes sp

own thoughts, reached for her t

ing with the kind of adoration she reserved for new crushes. "He's so handsome! Way hotter than any of the boys on t

her friend's naivety. "You fall in love with a

lecture, the next chance to fail. But as she reached for her locker, sh

ck. It felt like a wall had appeared in the middl

ents around her, their eyes fixed on h

s voice was la

ce startled her. She looked up, her eyes meet

ck in a half-up, half-down ponytail, framing his handsome face. He was undeniably attrac

ing a hand, his voice a soft melod

, sharp and commanding, cut through the air,

pproval settling over her. She knew what was coming next, the interrogati

presence pressing down on her, a suffocating reminder of their stark difference

ice a soft murmur, his gaze fixed on her, an unsp

th indignation, chimed in,

back to Katherine, her gaze sharp and critical

he didn't want to start a fight, especially not in front of him. She just wanted

ilver eyes that seemed to hold her captive. She wanted to run, to escap

to Caroline, his gaze meeting hers for a moment, a silent battle of wills. "I'll just continue with our tou

rowded hallway. She felt a surge of relief, the pressure that had been

back at Katherine, her eyes filled with a mixture

her friend. "I'm fine." But the words fel

said, with a small smil

allway. Katherine stood there for a moment, lost in her thoughts, the weight of her fail

nd her, to see beyond the facade she had constructed, to recognize the pain and the fear that lurked beneath the surface. Ha

r heart sinking with each missed call, each unanswered text. There was no one to call,

unbearable. She wished she could disappear, to escape the constant

vironment of the classroom, the droning voice of her teache

hts, the constant comparison, the overwhelming sense of inadequacy. She was a shadow,

free from the shackles of her past, to fo

o fade into the background, to be invisible, to