First period began like thunder. And Anna knew exactly what kind of storm it would be.
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So, when the teacher paused, squinted at the attendance sheet, and called her name with that sharp, biting tone only teachers seem to master, she didn’t flinch.
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“Anna Walker.”
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The class turned. Heads tilted. Eyes gleamed—especially her enemy’s—eager for the drama. She rose slowly, like time bent for her. Her face, unreadable. A statue in motion.
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“Where have you been the last few weeks before vacation?”
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She said nothing. Her voice was on leave, just like her heart.
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The teacher sighed and handed her a file—her report from the last semester. Of course. She hadn’t attended classes. But she had shown up for the exams. She took the file, opened it, glanced at the results.
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Topped again.
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Even with math weighing her down, she was still one of the best. But it didn’t matter. No glow. No grin. No flutter in her chest. Because in her mind, she wasn’t a student. She was a shadow. A ghost in a school uniform.
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Her fingers pressed the edges of the file until the paper crinkled. It didn’t hurt because of the grades. It hurt because something else—something softer, deeper—had torn again. And this time, she didn’t know where she’d left it.
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She turned slightly. The girl next to her scribbled away, like her pen was chasing a train that would leave her behind.
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Why? Probably because she didn’t have a choice.
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Anna wanted to say something. One line. One honest question. But her promise echoed back like a chain around her heart: “No fake friends. No betrayal. Ever again.” A promise she made to Pinky. To Leo. To the ones who never broke her.
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Even if that girl seemed kind—even if she looked like safety—Anna wasn’t reaching out. Not again.
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So she looked away. And became the statue they all believed she was.
The bell rang like a scream trapped in her chest. Morning periods—done. Lunch.
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Lunch with who?
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Anna pulled out her lunch box. Old. Scratched. Ancient, honestly. Like everything she still held onto. Plain metal. No stickers. No glitter. Just yesterday’s food—and today’s loneliness.
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But she didn’t open it. She stared out the window. The sky was too bright. Too... happy.
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She used to love skies like that. Used to paint poems in clouds. Used to laugh with friends beside her.
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Her eyes closed. And the past returned—uninvited, unstoppable.
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One year ago. The court. The cheers. Her sneakers hitting the ground. Her name being called, again and again. The ball soared. Goal. They screamed, they jumped, they belonged to the moment.
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She felt alive.
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Until the fall.
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Ankle twisted. Body hit the ground. Silence.
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And then... the anger.
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Not from the crowd. From her team. From the one who should’ve helped her up.
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Her best friend, Nexi.
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Who walked to her. Looked down.
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And said one word:
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“Pathetic.”
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That word... sliced.
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Her best friend became her deepest wound.
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Later that night, Anna scribbled something in the corner of her notebook: “Once we were friends, yet strangers now.”
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She never showed it to anyone. She didn’t have to. It was written across her every day since.
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Her fingers clenched around the lunch box. She didn’t open it. Not because she wasn’t hungry. But because something deeper—something raw and aching—was starving louder.
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She blinked away the sting in her eyes.
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Didn’t cry. Not now. Not here.
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She saved that for the night.
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She always did.
**********
Do you ever felt like how Anna feel?..
Do you have fake friends too?..
Are you alone at school too?..
let me know what you think about this chapter..✨
ASH..✨
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and then Add to home screen.