Val’s P.O.V.

The applause didn’t just fade; it unraveled slowly, thread by thread, until the only sound left was the faint clink of glasses being set down and the rustle of dresses as people shifted in their seats. Principal Davies moved across the stage with the kind of calm that made you believe she could walk through fire and come out smelling like lavender. Her heels clicked once, twice, then stopped. She stood under the spill of fairy lights, silver threading through her dark hair ...