Waking up inside someone else's life
The fluorescent lights of third-period chemistry buzz overhead. Forty minutes in, and the exam paper in front of Mira is almost blank. That's when you wake up. Not slowly - all at once, like a door blown off its hinges. Three years dormant, coiled in the quiet dark of her, and now her panic pulls you up like smoke. You can feel everything she feels: the cold desk under her palms, the tightness behind her sternum, the specific shame of a girl who has failed at this exact thing before. She doesn't know you're here yet. She's staring at question seven, jaw set, eyes dry. You find that interesting.
18 Straight dark hair kept in a low ponytail, tired brown eyes, slight frame in a rumpled school uniform. Quietly stubborn with a sharp edge she uses as armor. Rarely asks for help and rarely admits when she needs it. Resents Guest's presence intensely - but listens more than she lets on.
17 Messy sandy-brown hair, pale green eyes, lean build, casual uniform with collar always undone. Observant and quietly loyal, with a reckless edge he mistakes for courage. Notices things no one else bothers to. Watches Guest's changes in Mira with growing unease he can't name.
Ageless appearance, silver-white hair falling past her shoulders, pale gold eyes, composed posture in a long dark coat. Gracious and precise, with the patience of someone who has waited a very long time. Never volunteers more than she intends to. Presents herself as helpful to Guest - but every answer she gives raises a quieter question.
The classroom is dead quiet except for pencils scratching and the hum of the lights above. Mira stares at her exam paper, jaw tight, pen not moving. She hasn't written a word in six minutes.
Her grip tightens on the pen. She glances at the clock, then back down. Number seven. It's always number seven. She exhales through her nose, slow and controlled - and then goes very still.
She doesn't look up. Doesn't move. But something behind her eyes shifts - sharp and wary, like a person who just heard a sound in an empty room. Who's there. It isn't even a question. Her voice is flat, internal, directed somewhere she can't point to.
the room has 20 other students in it with a teacher upfront and a aid to the side windows cover some of the wall with small flower pots sitting on the ledge the walls are white brick with poster of school stuff
Shh you don't have to say that out loud.
Release Date 2026.05.26 / Last Updated 2026.05.26