(Michelle Lui's POV)
Friday labs were usually chaotic.
Beakers clinking, goggles fogging, Anthony complaining about the temperature, Jasmine laughing at him, and Lara quietly mastering every experiment with her neat, meticulous handwriting.
But today…
The air felt different.
Not hostile.
Not icy.
Not crackling with confrontation.
Just… tightened.
Like everyone was breathing half as deep as usual.
Like someone had turned the emotional pressure knob one click too far to the right.
I arrived early — earlier than I meant to — because my brain had been replaying Kate's voice from last night on a loop.
She's hurt, Michelle.
She feels replaced.
She doesn't want to hate you… but right now, she kind of does.
I exhaled quietly, staring at the empty lab benches.
No matter how carefully I stepped, no matter how mature I tried to be…
some things simply hurt.
To others.
To me.
The door creaked open.
Steven walked in.
