Part 1: The Circle
The school gym buzzed with noise—loud, chaotic, restless.
The squeak of sneakers against polished wood mixed with bursts of laughter, sharp whispers, and the constant murmur of a crowd sensing something about to happen. Students packed tightly into a circle, shoulder to shoulder, their phones already raised, recording from every angle.
No one wanted to miss the show.
At the center of that circle stood Anna.
Small. Slender. Almost invisible.
She wore an oversized gray hoodie that swallowed her frame, the sleeves hanging slightly past her wrists. Her dark hair fell loosely around her face, partly shielding her expression. She looked like someone who didn’t belong in the middle of attention—someone who usually stayed at the edges of everything.
And normally, she did.
She sat in the back of every classroom. She avoided eye contact. She spoke only when called on—and even then, quietly.
Most people at school didn’t know her name.
And those who did… didn’t think much of it.
But that day, invisibility had failed her.
Because across from her stood someone everyone knew.
