The next morning, the sky looked too peaceful for what Ami felt inside.
Morning light glares through the car window. Ami watches the school gates approach,same cracked sidewalks, same cherry trees pretending to be something special.
[Back to prison]
She steps out, adjusting her bag. The air smells like cheap cologne and cafeteria grease.
Inside, the hallway buzzes with the usual noise. Then-
Ammiiiii~!"
A voice shrieked with fake sweetness.
Ami turned, already knowing who it was.
Nyra.
[Bestie. Right. The same "bestie" who fucked Ron in Ami's bed last time around]
Nyra hugged her too tightly.
"You okay now? You looked totally pale yesterday~ I was sooo worried, bestie!"
Ami smiled faintly.
"Yeah. Just a little headache. But your concern? So touching I could cry."
Nyra beams, oblivious as ever.
Nyra blinks, then laughs ," That's why you're my bestie."
[Later that day, the music room door was cracked open. A small group of students had gathered near the piano]
The music room's packed when Ami walks in. At the front, Soha Whitmore, clutches a lyric sheet like it's a life raft.
[Ami's pov: Huh? Isn't that Soha Whitmore? The so-called popular singer in the future.
She looks quite young now.]
"I...I wanna audition for the cultural fest,"Soha mumbles.
Nyra leans against the piano, grinning. "Oh honey, no. You sound like a seagull getting stepped on."
Snickers ripple through the room. Soha's face goes red.
[Last life, Ami stayed quiet. Not today.]
"Weird,"Ami says, "I don't remember anyone asking you, Nyra."
The room goes quiet.
Nyra's smile falters. "Just saying what everyone's thinking."
"Nah, you're just desperate to feel important."Ami grabs a chair, spins it backward, sits.
A few students laughed awkwardly. Soha looked up in surprise.
"Sing, Soha. You don't need anyone's permission to exist."
Soha's eyes widen.
Nyra freezes.
[Gotcha.]
[Meanwhile, outside the classroom]
Dio, walking past with his guitar case strapped to his back, paused.
The hallway was loud, but he'd caught it.
That voice again.
"The girl from the nurse's room?"
Through the window, he watches Ami dismantle Nyra with three sentences. No yelling. No drama. Just precision.
[Damn.]
He smirks, keeps walking.
[This school just got interesting.]