Seraphina moved like a ghost through the halls, a hollow shell of herself. She didn't remember walking out of the admin office. One moment, she was trapped in that suffocating room, pinned beneath the ice-cold glares of the board members and the finality of their words—suspended, at stake, pending further review—and the next, the heavy mahogany door had clicked shut behind her.
It was the sound of a death sentence.
Her legs were moving, but she felt no connection to them. They were robotic, mechanical, carrying her toward an exit she didn't recall choosing. Beside her, Emily's voice was a frantic tether, thin and distant, vibrating through the thick, muffling layer of shock that encased Seraphina's mind.
"Seraphina… slow down… breathe for me, please…"
