The sun had always risen.
No matter how heavy the clouds were or how dark the morning felt, somehow the light found a way to sneak in.
But that day it didn't.
Or maybe it did. Just not for me.
The laughter in the school corridors felt distant. The colors around me seemed drained, like someone had turned the saturation down on the world. My classmates were busy talking, giggling, forming circles of early friendships I didn't feel part of.
But me?
I was lost in the memory of him.
Star.
The boy who made my heart skip a beat with just one wink. The boy everyone screamed for. The boy with the perfect smile. And yet, he was already taken by the head girl, no less.
But wasn't it silly?
To feel this way over someone I had just met?
To feel like something inside me had awakened, only to realize it wasn't meant to be?
I sat by the window again. My usual spot.
The sky outside was grey not the rainy kind of grey, but the kind that hangs heavy and hollow, like something had been forgotten.
My books lay open, but the words danced away from my eyes. My mind wasn't in the classroom. It was stuck at the stairs, where our eyes had locked again. It was stuck on his voice, his smile, his presence.
I didn't even know his last name.
During lunch, I stayed back in class. I didn't feel like eating. The school dining hall felt too loud, too crowded too much.
Instead, I stared outside, letting the wind brush against my thoughts.
"Not hungry?"
A voice from behind.
I turned around slowly.
It was her.
Tall. Confident. Intimidating in the way only a head girl could be. Her blazer sat perfectly on her shoulders, and her badge sparkled like it knew it belonged to someone important.
She walked toward me.
"Zoe, right?" she asked.
I nodded.
She smiled.
A kind smile. The kind that reached the eyes full of happiness, warmth, and something else... something I couldn't quite name.
"I'm Amara. I noticed you've been... attracting attention."
My throat tightened. I swallowed hard.
"I'm not trying to," I replied quietly.
"I know," she said softly. "May I be your sister? The one you can depend on your family, as long as we're living?"
I blinked. Confused.
Before I could say anything, she pulled me into a hug gently, yet firmly then took my hand and led me out of the classroom. I didn't know where we were going until we entered her class.
She stood in front of everyone and introduced me as her sibling.
Me?
Out of all the freshmen... why me?
And just like that, I was now the head girl's sibling.
That night, lying on my bunk bed under the soft hum of the dormitory fan, I stared at the ceiling. The words she said played over and over in my mind like a love song.
Was it a genuine offer of friendship?
Or was it a clever way to keep me close—to keep me away from Star?
Was it about him?
I hadn't done anything wrong. I barely even spoke to him. But maybe that didn't matter. Maybe just existing was enough to make someone feel threatened.
Or maybe... she truly meant it.
Time would tell.
I turned on my side, pulled the blanket over my head, and whispered into the darkness:
"I didn't mean to be the spotlight... it just happened."
But what if I had done something?
What if she was being kind, and I was the one twisting everything?
What if... I was the one trying to take something that was never mine?