Elena’s POV

“I’ll see you all at the competition.”

The echo of my words still hung in the air when the heavy office doors shut behind me. The corridor stretched ahead, dim and cold, the buzz of students’ whispers a distant hum. I wanted to keep walking, to bury myself in silence, but the soft sound of hurried footsteps caught up to me.

“Elena—wait!”

Sylvia.

Her fingers clutched the hem of my sleeve, tugging with desperation. I turned, and there she stood, breathless, her eyes ...