Hidden Behind Glass and Lies
She never went out for sport, nor did she join the cheerleaders; she was always reading and cared about nothing else.
And somehow, that drew me in more than anything else.
I started noticing everything. The way she always tied her hair into a messy bun with strands falling freely around her face, probably because she didn't have the luxury of time. The way she clutched her books like they were the only stable thing in her life. The faint marks on her wrists that she tried to hide.
I learned her name when a teacher praised her in the staff room, talking about her scholarship and how she needed to maintain her grades. From then on, Aria Cole stayed somewhere in my mind, quietly, persistently.