I stood in front of the mirror, biting my lip as I adjusted the strap of my top. For the first time in forever, I was actually dressing up for class… a real class, with real people.

My stomach twisted just thinking about it. I’d been homeschooled for so long that the idea of sitting in a classroom again, surrounded by strangers, felt almost… foreign.

I smoothed down my jeans, exhaled, then tied my hair into a neat bun. “You’ve got this,” I whispered to my reflection. It sounded ...