After exams, Miss Lily collected the papers one by one, moving down the rows like she was counting us off in her head. When she reached Ella, she paused longer than necessary, glanced at the clock, then took the sheet without a word. That was when Ella finally looked at me.
"Hi," she whispered, like she hadn't ignored me for half the morning.
I turned to her immediately. "Where were you?"
She sighed, already packing her bag. "Bad morning. I'll tell you later. I'm starving." That was enough for now.
We walked straight to the cafeteria once we were dismissed. The place was crowded, loud, and full of people who clearly had nothing better to do than watch everyone else. Ella grabbed a tray and piled food onto it like she hadn't eaten in days, I only got some fries and ketchup wiWe sat at a corner table.
She didn't even wait to sit properly before shoving a forkful of food into her mouth.
"Okay," she said around it, eyes on me. "Now talk."
