Fated to two

red into the building, but for Mia, it was just another batt

" a sneering v

stif

sh

a smug smile playing on her glossy lips. "Late again, M

tighter, trying to move past, but Sasha st

. You really should watch where you're going-th

ent. She had learned that words only mad

d from her hands. The snickers around her pressed in like a cage. She tri

as she looked up at Sasha. "Why do you h

went quiet

be it's your face," she said with a smirk. "Or maybe it

her. She tried to blink away the tears, but one

mock sympathy, tilting her head. "Is the little

lau

e a shield, her voice trembling. "Why are

eturned like armor. "You were born, that's what.

ng of them, the cruelty, it burned

ed in close and whispered, "Go ahead and cr

ay, her vision blurred with tears. She didn't ca

uddenl

nto someone, her books

e gasped, steppin

said. His voice was calm but firm, laced with

man was young, maybe mid-twenties, in a navy-blue button-up with

r tear-streaked face,

mbarrassed an

e paused, eyeing the direction she cam

g her eyes. "It's no

ten?" he asked gently, not p

er, but her sil

her last book. "You don't have

-

own the hallway, shoulders hunched

he thought. That was pain-and th

corridor, where a group of girls still lingered, laughing. One of them-tal

op graded s,stepdaughter to one of the school's major do

is mind was already racing-lesson plans pu

rl who's learned t