I was terrified.

  Not the normal kind of fear.

  The kind that crawls into your bones and makes you wish the ground would just open up and swallow you whole.

  All around me, chaos erupted.

  Students were running in every direction. Some were screaming. Others were crying. Teachers shouted orders, trying to control the panic.

  For a moment it felt like the school had been bombed and everyone was running for their lives.

  My heart was pounding so loudly in my chest that I could barely hear anything else.

  And then instinct took over.

  I ran.

  Not toward Helen.

  Not toward the teachers.

  I ran away from the balcony.

  Away from the place where everything had just happened.

  Because one thought kept repeating in my mind.

  This was a setup.

  But who would go that far?

  Clara was cruel, yes. Everyone knew that.

  But this?

  This felt darker.

  More calculated.

  For a second I even wondered if I was losing my mind. Maybe the shock had made me imagine things.

  The sound of sirens pulled me out of my thoughts.

  An ambulance.

  Its sharp cry cut through the air as it rushed into the school grounds.

  Students crowded around the courtyard below.

  Slowly, like someone moving in a dream, I walked closer.

  Paramedics were kneeling beside Helen.

  Her body looked small against the concrete floor.

  Too still.

  Blood spread beneath her head.

  They lifted her onto a stretcher and rushed her into the ambulance.

  As they wheeled her away, I noticed something else.

  Students were looking at me.

  Not with concern.

  Not with shock.

  But with judgment.

  Whispers spread through the crowd.

  And suddenly it hit me.

  They thought I did it.

  A teacher came for me soon after.

  “The principal wants to see you.”

  My legs felt weak as I followed her down the hallway.

  When we reached the office, I stepped inside.

  The room felt suffocating.

  Several teachers were there.

  Clara was sitting quietly in a chair.

  Steven stood beside her.

  The moment I saw him, confusion flashed through my mind.

  Why was Steven here?

  The principal cleared his throat.

  “Teresa,” he said sternly, “we have been informed that you pushed Helen from the balcony.”

  My stomach dropped.

  “That’s not true,” I said quickly. “She tried to push me—”

  Before I could finish, Steven spoke.

  “I saw her push Helen.”

  His voice was calm.

  Too calm.

  The room went silent.

  My heart slammed against my ribs.

  “You’re lying,” I whispered.

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  Clara slowly lifted her phone.

  “We also have evidence,” she said sweetly.

  She played the video.

  My breath caught in my throat.

  The footage showed the balcony.

  Helen standing near the railing.

  And then me.

  From the angle of the video, it looked exactly like I shoved her.

  Like I had pushed her off the building.

  My hands began to shake.

  “No… no, that’s not what happened.”

  Terror flooded my body.

  I had never felt fear like this before.

  I dropped to my knees.

  “Please,” I begged the principal. “I didn’t do it. I swear I didn’t push her. She tried to push me first!”

  But no one was listening.

  No one wanted to hear it.

  Clara was watching me with barely hidden laughter.

  And when I looked at Steven

  There was a small gleam in his eyes.

  Amusement.

  He thought this was funny.

  The realization made my chest feel hollow.

  The principal sighed heavily.

  “I’ve called your father,” he said. “And the police are on their way.”

  The words echoed in my head.

  The police.

  Everything inside me went numb.

  All I had ever wanted was something simple.

  Graduate.

  Go to college.

  Get a degree.

  Become successful enough to take care of my family.

  Make my father proud.

  Why was my life turning into this?

  The police arrived not long after.

  My father arrived at the same time.

  When I saw him step into the office, something inside me shattered.

  His face looked like that of a man who feared he was about to lose his child.

  I wanted to disappear.

  I didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes.

  The officers spoke to the principal briefly before turning to me.

  “Teresa,” one of them said gently, “we need you to come with us to the station.”

  My throat closed.

  I nodded weakly.

  My father walked beside me as we left the office.

  But before stepping out of the building, I turned back.

  Clara and Steven were still standing there.

  Watching.

  Both of them smiling.

  Something inside me snapped.

  “It’s a setup!” I screamed. “I didn’t do it! They’re lying!”

  The officers tried to calm me as they led me outside.

  I struggled.

  Kicked.

  Cried.

  My father held my shoulders, his voice shaking.

  “Teresa, calm down. Everything will be okay.”

  But nothing felt okay.

  Not anymore.

  They placed me in the back of the police car.

  As the vehicle pulled away from the school, tears streamed down my face.

  I had no idea what was going to happen next.

  I didn’t know if anyone would believe me.

  And for the first time in my life

  I was truly afraid of my future.