Mira had never been good at making friends.
Not because she didn't want to.
But because she had learned early that people came and went—often when you needed them most.
So when Linda sat beside her in class without asking, Mira was caught off guard.
"You don't mind, right?" Linda asked calmly, already opening her notebook. "It's quieter here."
Mira shook her head. "I don't mind."
Across the room, Katherine dragged a chair over noisily.
"Oh please," Katherine said, dropping into the seat on Mira's other side. "If I sit anywhere else, I'll die of boredom."
Mira blinked.
Linda sighed. "You're already bored."
"Exactly. I need stimulation," Katherine replied dramatically.
Mira laughed before she could stop herself.
It surprised all three of them.
---
By lunchtime, it felt… easy.
Linda listened more than she spoke, always thoughtful, always present.
Katherine talked enough for three people—complaining about homework, acting out teachers' expressions, and somehow turning the worst days into jokes.
"You're too quiet," Katherine told Mira, poking her lightly. "But I like you. You have mysterious main-character energy."
Mira smiled. "Is that a good thing?"
"The best thing," Katherine declared.
---
Blake watched them from a distance.
Mira looked lighter.
Less alone.
That mattered.
---
After school, the three girls walked together.
"So," Katherine said, swinging her bag. "Are the rumors about you and Blake true?"
Mira nearly tripped.
"No," she said quickly. "We're just classmates."
Linda nodded. "That's what it looks like."
Katherine squinted. "Hmm. Suspicious."
Mira laughed again.
It felt good.
---
From the car, Dominic noticed something different.
Mira was smiling.
Not politely.
Genuinely.
He turned to Aaron. "Who are they?"
"Linda Zhou," Aaron replied. "Calm, top ten in class. And Katherine Evans—energetic, social, slightly dramatic."
Dominic nodded. "Good."
---
That evening, Mira messaged the group chat Katherine had already created.
Katherine: GIRLS' STUDY GROUP TOMORROW
Linda: With snacks.
Mira: I'll bring tea.
Mira looked down at her bracelet.
Then at her phone.
For the first time in a long while, her life wasn't just about surviving.
She was living too.