AMARA'S POV
Their voices were knives.
“Slut.”
“Whore.”
“She probably begged for it.”
Each word cut deeper, and I stood frozen, clutching my bag, my chest heavy like someone had dropped a stone inside me. My ears rang with their laughter. The campus blurred in my eyes, and all I could feel was the heat of shame crawling up my skin.
My lips trembled. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.
What if they knew?
What if they had seen me in his office? What if the whole school already whispered about Professor Black and me?
My knees wobbled at the thought. No, no, they couldn’t know.
The leader of the Sassy girls leaned forward, her lip gloss shining under the sun, her smile sharp as a blade. “You want to know why everyone’s looking at you?”
My throat closed. I wanted to say no, but the word
