Evaline:
The rest of the class passed in a blur.
Even as I returned to my seat and attempted to help Mallory and Ria with their brew, my thoughts stayed tangled in the moment before - Kieran's voice close to my ear, the warmth in his gaze, the quiet pride. He hadn't praised anyone else aloud. Just me.
And that should have felt good.
But I had learned long ago that attention, especially the wrong kind, always came with consequences.
When the class ended, I barely had time to gather my notes before his voice rang out again.
"Miss Evaline, stay back for a moment."
It was casual, almost offhand. But to the girls who had spent the last hour staring daggers at me, it might as well have been an invitation to war.
I heard Bianca's sharp intake of breath. Nadine looked like she was going to bite through her lip, and Violet didn't bother hiding her rolled eyes.
I pretended not to notice any of it.
"See you later," I whispered to my friends as they packed up.
