Only One Boy Asked Me To Prom Because Of My Birthmark—Until An Officer Walked In

“Caleb Hartwell.” Her voice was flat and careful.

“Yes.”

“He just appeared at your locker out of nowhere.”

“Yes.”

“Hannah.” Megan lowered her voice. “People like Caleb don’t just decide things like that. There’s always a reason. Please be careful.”

Hannah pushed her tray to the side. The cafeteria noise pressed in from all directions. A part of her had known this was coming from the moment Caleb walked away. A bigger part of her did not want Megan to be right.

That afternoon, Hannah went into the second-floor bathroom to splash water on her face and spend two minutes in a space where nobody was looking at her. She had barely turned on the faucet when the door opened behind her.

Brittany walked in with the particular energy of someone arriving rather than entering. Her perfume reached Hannah first. She stopped behind her, looking at both their reflections in the mirror.