Violet

I opened the classroom door and stepped inside.

I stepped into the usual mix of chatter, clicking phones, and someone snoring quietly in the back. It felt like a typical college morning. Except, something was off.

The moment I walked in, every head turned. I froze, my fingers tightening around my bag as dozens of eyes locked on me.

I wasn’t used to this. Normally, I was invisible, the quiet one. The scholarship student. The girl who always sat near the window with her nose in a book.

People only knew me as Penelope and Kai’s friend, and only when they were around. The moment they left, I faded...