The cafeteria wasn’t supposed to be a battlefield. It was supposed to be just another noisy break in the absence of classes, trays clattering and conversations weaving together like static. But after what happened, it felt like the whole room had been holding its breath for me to drown.

Jennifer’s voice still rang in my ears. Her shove still echoed through my bones. And Sebastian’s intervention, firm, commanding, dangerous—hung like a spark in dry grass, ready to set everything ...