CHAPTER 21
Riley POV Friday morning greeted the campus with bright sunshine. It almost felt cruel. Students crossed the courtyard laughing with friends, coffee cups in hand, complaining about assignments and weekend plans. Music drifted from someone's open dorm window while a group of freshmen threw a football across the grass. Life kept moving while mine felt like it was standing perfectly still. Eight days. That number had become impossible to ignore. Eight days until Cedar Hall closed. Eight days until I had nowhere to sleep. Eight days until everything I'd worked so hard for could disappear. I tightened my grip on my backpack strap and forced myself toward my morning lecture. One class. One practice. One day. That was all I could think about. Anything beyond that felt overwhelming. The lecture
- Writer
