THE GIRL NOBODY SAW
The first thing Amelia Carter learned about Westbridge Academy was that money could make people believe they were better than everyone else.
The second thing she learned was that nobody cared if they were wrong.
Every morning, the school gates opened at exactly 7:30Am, and expensive cars began rolling through one after another.
Black SUVs.
Luxury sedans.
Sports cars that cost more than the house Amelia lived in.
Students stepped out wearing perfectly pressed uniforms, designer watches, expensive shoes, and smiles that suggested the world belonged to them.
Amelia usually arrived on foot.
Not because she wanted to.
Because the bus dropped her several streets away, and walking the rest of the distance was cheaper than taking another ride.
She tightened the strap of her worn backpack and walked through the gates.
She kept her eyes forward.
That was another thing she had learned.
Don't look around.
Don't react.
Don't give them anything.
Unfortunately, Westbridge had a way of noticing people who wanted to disappear.
Hey, scholarship girl.
Amelia kept walking.
Someone laughed behind her.
She heard footsteps approaching.
Amelia already knew who it was before the voice came again.
Did you forget your chauffeur today?
More laughter.
She stopped for half a second.
Then continued walking.
Victoria Sinclair stood near the main entrance with her usual group of friends.
Perfect hair.
Perfect makeup.
Perfect uniform.
Everything about Victoria looked carefully arranged, as though even a strand of her hair had been given instructions before leaving home.
She watched Amelia pass with a smile.
You know, Amelia, you really should stop pretending you belong here.
Amelia finally stopped.
The hallway seemed to quiet around them.
She turned slowly.
Victoria tilted her head.
What?
Amelia looked at her.
Nothing.
She turned away again.
Victoria laughed.
That's what I thought.
Amelia walked into the building.
Her heart was beating faster than it should have.
She hated that.
She hated how a few words from Victoria could ruin her entire morning.
But she had become good at pretending otherwise.
She reached her locker and opened it.
A small piece of paper fell onto the floor.
She stared at it.
She already knew.
She picked it up.
Poor girl.
Maybe one day you'll finally realize this isn't your world.
Amelia folded the paper once.
Then again.
She placed it inside her bag.
She didn't throw it away.
She never did.
Not because the words mattered.
Because she had started collecting them.
Every cruel note.
Every ridiculous rumor.
Every message written across her desk.
Every reminder that she was different.
She kept them all.
Maybe one day she would look back and realize she had survived every single one.
Amelia closed her locker.
Someone bumped into her shoulder.
Hard.
Her books slipped from her hands and scattered across the floor.
Oops.
Chloe Bennett covered her mouth, pretending to be surprised.
I didn't see you.
Madison laughed beside her.
Of course you didn't.
Amelia crouched down and began gathering her books.
A shoe stopped directly beside her hand.
She looked up.
Victoria.
She smiled.
Careful.
Amelia said nothing.
Victoria stepped over one of Amelia's notebooks.
You wouldn't want to damage your scholarship, would you?
Amelia looked at her.
What does that even mean?
Victoria's smile widened.
You know exactly what it means.
She walked away with Chloe and Madison following behind her.
Amelia watched them disappear into the crowd.
Then she picked up the last notebook.
Her fingers were trembling.
She hated that too.
She took a breath.
Then another.
You're okay.
She whispered the words so quietly that nobody could hear.
You're okay.
The truth was, she wasn't.
But she would be.
She always was.
By the time Amelia entered the classroom, most of the students were already seated.
She took her usual seat near the window.
It wasn't the best seat in the room.
That was exactly why she liked it.
From there, she could see the courtyard without being forced to participate in whatever drama was happening inside the classroom.
Sophie Williams dropped into the seat beside her.
I heard.
Amelia looked at her.
Heard what?
The hallway.
Sophie frowned.
Victoria?
Amelia shrugged.
It's nothing.
Sophie stared at her.
You always say that.
Because it usually is.
No, it isn't.
Amelia smiled faintly.
You're going to get yourself into trouble one day.
Sophie leaned closer.
I'm already in trouble. I'm friends with you.
Amelia laughed.
It was small.
But it was real.
That was what Sophie did.
She made things feel normal.
Even when they weren't.
The teacher entered a few minutes later, and everyone settled down.
Amelia opened her notebook.
For the next forty minutes, she concentrated on the lesson.
Numbers made sense.
People didn't.
That was why she liked mathematics.
There were rules.
There were answers.
If you followed the right steps, you could solve the problem.
People were different.
People could smile at you while planning how to hurt you.
The bell rang.
Students immediately began packing their things.
Sophie stood.
Lunch?
Amelia nodded.
As they left the classroom, the hallway suddenly became louder.
Someone near the entrance shouted.
He's here.
Another voice answered.
Who?
The new student.
Amelia barely listened.
New students arrived all the time.
Westbridge was always receiving children from wealthy families who moved from one country to another.
She had no reason to care.
Then the hallway erupted.
Sophie stopped walking.
Amelia almost walked into her.
What?
Sophie grabbed her arm.
Look.
Amelia followed her gaze toward the main entrance.
A black car had just stopped outside.
The driver's door opened.
Then the passenger door.
A boy stepped out.
The hallway seemed to change.
Girls who had been talking suddenly went silent.
Someone whispered his name.
Ethan Blackwood.
Amelia didn't know who he was.
But judging by the reaction around her, everyone else did.
He stood beside the car in the same Westbridge uniform as everyone else, yet somehow looked completely different.
Dark hair.
Calm expression.
Confident posture.
He wasn't smiling.
He didn't need to.
The whispers spread through the hallway.
He's so handsome.
Isn't he from Blackwood Industries?
I heard his family owns half the city.
Why did he transfer here?
Victoria had appeared near the entrance.
For the first time that morning, Amelia saw something unusual on her face.
Surprise.
Then interest.
Then a smile.
The kind of smile Amelia had seen Victoria use whenever she wanted something.
Sophie grabbed Amelia's arm again.
Oh my God.
Amelia looked at her.
What?
That's Ethan Blackwood.
Apparently, that was supposed to mean something.
Amelia shrugged.
Okay?
Sophie stared at her like she had just said something ridiculous.
Okay?
Yes.
Amelia adjusted her backpack.
He's just another student.
Sophie laughed.
You really don't know anything about rich people, do you?
Amelia looked back toward the entrance.
Ethan was walking into the school now.
Students moved aside for him without being asked.
Amelia turned away.
She had no idea that the boy everyone was staring at would soon become the person she couldn't stop thinking about.
She had no idea that his arrival would change everything.
She only knew one thing.
He was just another student.
At least, that was what she believed.
Before she knew him.
Before he knew her.
Before they knew us.
