Lilly wasn't the kind of girl people noticed.
Not until Aisha decided to make her the villain of the story.
And now? Everyone noticed her — but for all the wrong reasons.
She'd spent weeks being stared at, laughed at, whispered about. Weeks being painted as the attention-seeker, the liar, the desperate one.
But today… she sat in her seat, back straight, head high.
If Aisha wanted a war, Lilly decided, then she'd give her one.
And she wouldn't even see it coming.
It started with Samy.
After lunch, Lilly found her by the water fountain and tapped her shoulder.
"Hey," she said softly.
Samy turned, startled — then relaxed when she saw her.
"Hey," she murmured back.
"Thank you," Lilly said. "For yesterday. For telling me."
Samy gave a small shrug. "She thinks she's untouchable. But she's not."
Lilly smiled faintly. "No," she agreed. "She's not."
She hesitated, then added, "I'm… going to do something about her. I can't just let her keep walking all over me. But I can't do it alone."
Samy raised an eyebrow.
Then — slowly — she smiled too.
"Okay," she said. "I'm in."