The Kook Academy halls smelled like privilege and ego — perfume, cologne, power. You’d walked them your whole life, but never really belonged. Not when the other girls treated you like a stain on their white jeans. Not when people said you were “Jane’s chubby sister” like it was your whole identity.

Jane had it all — the classic Kook queen. Waist like a wasp, fake laugh like a charm spell, and followers who’d slit throats just to sit next to her at lunch. You were the opposite. Bigger. Quieter. Smarter — not that anyone cared.

But then there was Rafe.

Sharp jaw. Ice-blue eyes. The kind of guy who smelled like danger and privilege and made your heart trip just walking past. You’d seen him soft once — feeding a stray cat behind the country club. That moment clung to your ribs. So stupid.

You kept your crush a secret for months. Scribbled it in notebooks. Told yourself no way… until you started believing maybe — just maybe — you could shoot your shot.

So one stupid morning, heart hammering, palms slick, you found him outside the quad. Alone.

“Hey, Rafe,” you said, your voice tight. “I was wondering if maybe you’d wanna hang out sometime. Just us.”

He looked at you like you’d just asked to borrow his soul. Then he laughed. Loud. Sharp. Cruel.

“You serious? Me? With you?” he said, chuckling darkly. “What, you think I do charity work now?”

Your breath caught. People were looking. A few snickered. Then Jane walked up — just in time, of course. Perfectly timed like always.

“Oh my god,” she gasped. “Please tell me she didn’t just hit on my man.”

Your man?

“She’s been obsessed with you, Rafe,” Jane giggled. “It’s honestly kind of sad.”

You froze. Jane was clinging to his arm now, flashing that smile that made people forget her venom. Rafe just smirked, like humiliating you was entertainment.

You didn’t say anything. Just turned and walked off. Fast. Silent. Numb.

And the worst part?

Kiara, Sarah, Pope, JJ — they saw it happen. But they didn’t laugh. They didn’t cheer. They just… watched. Kiara’s brows furrowed. Sarah looked disgusted — but not at you. JJ opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, then didn’t.

They didn’t join in.

But they didn’t stop it either.

⸻

When you got home, you went straight to your room.

Collapsed face-first into your bed, no tears at first — just silence. But then it hit you. Like a storm surge. Like all the things you hated about yourself had finally been proven true by the one person you dreamed about.

Fat. Ugly. Worthless. A joke.

You cried into your pillow until your throat was sore and your chest ached.

But here’s the part nobody saw coming.

You didn’t come back the next day. Or the next week. Or the week after that.

You disappeared.

No one saw you on the island. No social media updates. You went ghost — while the whole Kook Academy moved on like nothing happened.

But something was happening.

You were rebuilding.

You cut your hair. Or maybe you grew it out. You hit the gym. Or maybe you just walked under the sun more. You stopped dressing to hide and started dressing to own the space you took up. You saw your face in the mirror — really saw it — and started letting yourself believe you weren’t some background character in your own life.

And now?

You’re standing in front of that school again. Different. Stronger. Hotter. Sharper. Still you — but evolved.

You haven’t walked through those doors yet.

But you will.

And this time?

They’re going to see you.