Khrisana woke up feeling like her body had forgotten how to move. Her eyes were puffy, and the ache behind them made her want to sink back into the pillow. But Amara's hug from yesterday... Jaylen's dumb joke... those things stuck with her. Somehow, they made it feel just a little safer to try again. She sat up slowly and peeled off the blanket. Her chest felt tight, but she stood anyway. Her mom glanced over from the stove as she came into the kitchen. "You sure you're ready, baby?" Khrisana shrugged. "No. But I gotta try."

Her mom gave a soft nod and slid toast onto a plate without a word. The walk to school felt heavier than usual. She kept her hoodie up and her eyes low. Her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag every time she heard laughter or footsteps too close behind her. She met Amara and Jaylen at the gate, and they didn't say anything just flanked her like bodyguards. Inside, the whispers came fast. "Didn't she miss like, four days?" " heard her aunt came to school, or something." "She don't even talk to nobody like that..." She kept walking, heart hammering. The classroom felt colder than usual. She slid into her seat beside Amara, who gave her a reassuring smile.

Their teacher looked up from the desk and blinked in surprise. "Khrisana... welcome back. Were you sick?" "Yeah," she said softly, barely meeting her eyes. The teacher nodded, clearly unsure what else to say, and moved on. But before Khrisana could take out her notebook, a shadow fell across her desk. "Hey." She looked up. He was light-skinned, maybe a little taller than Jaylen, with neat curls and thin-rimmed glasses. His voice was calm, gentle in a way that made her heart stutter. "You haven't been in school for a while. I was—uh—I mean, we were kinda wondering if you were okay." Khrisana blinked. "Oh... um, yeah. I'm fine. Just... stuff." He nodded like he got it. "Cool. I'm Shawn, by the way. I'm in your class." That surprised her. "Oh." He laughed a little. "Yeah, I sit two rows back. You probably never noticed."

She smiled awkwardly. "Sorry." "It's okay," he said, then hesitated. "Anyway... I'm glad you're back." Khrisana nodded. "Thanks." As he walked away, something fluttered in her chest. Her eyes followed him for a moment too long. "He's been in our class this whole time?" she asked under her breath. "Mm-hmm," Amara replied, tone flat. Jaylen leaned closer. "Yeah. And now he suddenly cares." Khrisana frowned. "He was just being nice." "Maybe," Jaylen said, not looking convinced. Amara said nothing, but her eyes didn't leave Shawn's back for a long time. Khrisana shook her head and opened her notebook, but she didn't hear much of the lesson. All she could think about was how Shawn had looked at her like she mattered.

And for the first time in a long time, that felt good.