BuzzNovelAfter saying goodbye to York, the two of them walked to the bus stop in silence, boarded in silence, and sat side
by side-still not uttering a word.
Alessia watched the trees slide past outside the window, their branches blurring together. After three days of
nonstop chaos-putting out fires for her family, juggling her own problems-it felt almost surreal to be back in the
rhythm of an ordinary school day. The taut string in her mind finally loosened, if only a little.
sible to miss.
else, while still
Zachary glanced over and immediately noticed the shadow under Alessia’s eyes. Her pale skin made the bruise
stand out starkly in the sunlight, Thinking about how she'd been running herself ragged for every managing her
own troubles, Zachary felt a fresh wave of guilt crash over him.
He wasn’t just a lousy older brother-he was doing a pretty poor job at being a decent human being, period.
He'd tossed and turned all night, replaying everything in his head, and finally sat up in bed and gave himself a
couple of hard slaps just to get to sleep. Now, seeing Alessia’s tired face, the guilt was back with a vengeance.
What a piece of work he was.
Zachary cursed himself silently.
“These past few days must've been rough, huh?” He wrestled with his thoughts for a while before finally
breaking the silence, only to immediately regret how stupid the question sounded.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtSure enough, Alessia blinked. “I'm fine.”
The awkward silence settled back over them, thicker than before. They didn’t speak again, not even when they
went their separate ways at their respective schools.
Stella was the first to spot Alessia, waving her over as soon as she appeared. Pierce's wave was even more
enthusiastic; his eyes lit up, fixed on her as she walked over.
“What's up?”
“Alessia, the annual track meet’s coming up,” Pierce announced, thrusting a sign-up sheet into her hands.
“Which events are you gracing us with this year?”
“Did you already pick for me?” Alessia arched an eyebrow.
n
Chapter 157
“Mile run, high jump, long jump. What do you think?” Pierce gave her his most winning smile.
The truth was, nobody wanted to sign up for the mile, and the other two events were dominated by athletes
from other classes. If Alessia didn’t compete, their class didn’t stand a chance. With just those three events,
they’d have a lock on a top-three finish for the whole school.
If there wasn’t a three-event limit per person, Pierce would've filled in Alessia’s nfor every single slot.
No point dragging it out. Alessia took the form and signed her nam strokes-no hesitation, all confidence.
quick, bold
“Stella, you're our star shot putter again this year,” Pierce said, sliding a different form her way. Stella didn’t
even argue; she just scribbled her nwith a flourish.
“Oh, right!” Pierce's seat had barely touched the chair before he bounced up again, leaning in between them.
“What is it now?” Stella tapped him on the head with her pen.
Pierce winced, immediately pulled back, and rubbed the spot she’d hit.
“The design contest from the start of
the semester—it's over! Alessia, you
overtook Rennyeby held votes at the
last thinute and took first place this
year. Congrats!" The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
“Thanks,” Alessia replied, her tone calm, as if this was exactly what she'd expected.
“This year, there's more than just a
cash prize. | heard A&P is offering to
grant your one wishfatn ouster"
clothing pietel Seeing that Alessia
barely reacted, Pierce put his hands
together in a plea, eyes wide with
hope. The content is on
novelenglish.net! Read the latest
chapter there!
“Alessia, | have a favor to beg!”
She raised an eyebrow. “Let’s hear it.”
“So, we're designing new class
t=shirts, and Penny and | both
agree—your designig perfecto the
[
track migetheme. It's bold and
vibrant, exactly what we need to
break the gloom of senior year. It
screams energy—youth itself!” The
content is on novelenglish.net! Read
the latest chapter there!
Chapter 15
Chapter 158
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