Carrie walked the halls like she owned them. Nobody knew why she was the way she was—but hurting people hurt people.
She grabbed Priya’s ponytail. Yanked. Priya hit the floor. Then she targeted Alana. Three o’clock, parking lot. Alana walked straight toward her and said:
“Why?”
“You think you’re better than me.”
“I don’t think about you at all. I’m done being afraid of someone who can’t tell me why they’re angry.”
That night, Carrie sat on the edge of her bed and replayed Alana’s words. No one thought about Carrie. She had built a kingdom of fear and she was the only one living in it. She cried for the first time in a year. In the morning, she walked into the guidance counselor’s office and said, “I think I need help.”