X. Author's Note

The sun sank, reluctant to leave, as though it knew the weight of the moment. Three years folded quietly, like the final page of a story too difficult to finish. Graduation. Not a celebration, but the quiet end of something that would never be the same again. The friendships, the battles, the secrets we kept. The truth, finally, would be impossible to hide.

"We walked in as strangers. We'd walk out as ghosts."
"I didn't lose because I wasn't strong. I lost because I thought strength was enough."
"Growth doesn't come from safety. It comes from resistance. From friction. From standing at a crossroads and making a choice you can't take back."

A three POV triptych - my version of graduation.