Evaline:
Rowan reacted before any of us could even fully process what we were seeing.
"Hey!" he called out sharply, his voice cutting through the garden like a blade. "What do you think you are doing?"
The effect was immediate.
The group of students froze mid-laughter, mid-mockery, mid-cruel amusement. One of them actually flinched before they all turned around, eyes widening when they took in the sight of us standing at the garden's entrance.
For a split second... just one... their faces reflected something raw and honest.
Panic.
But it vanished almost instantly, replaced by practiced, lazy smiles.
"Oh," one of them laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nothing much. We were just joking around."
"Yeah," another chimed in quickly. "Just having fun with our classmate."
As if to sell the lie, one of them slung an arm around the boy in the middle and pulled him closer, squeezing his shoulder like they were the best of friends.
I felt my jaw tighten.
