Chapter Twenty-Six – Messy It started like any other day — quiet, detached, Yn keeping to herself. But by third period, she could feel the shift in the air. People were whispering again, but this time it wasn’t about cheer, or Malachi, or Lila. It was about her family. She didn’t know why until she walked into the cafeteria and saw it — a printed sheet taped to the wall near the lunch line. Big, bold letters read: “YN’S DAD DIDN’T LEAVE — HE’S DEAD.” Underneath was a grainy photo of her from middle school, smiling with her mom. Someone had scrawled in marker: Guess that explains why she’s so messed up. Her stomach dropped. The laughter was sharper this time, cruel in a way that cut deeper than anything Lila had ever said. She could hear snippets of conversation as she passed: “Did you know? I thought he just bailed.” “No wonder she’s always so angry.” “Bet she’s crying about it right now.” Yn froze in the middle of the room, the noise pressing in from all sides. She didn’t even have to guess who was behind it — Lila was sitting at her usual table, phone in hand, grinning like she’d just won another round. For a moment, Yn felt the familiar burn of humiliation, the urge to run. But then something inside her shifted. She walked over to the sheet, ripped it down, and crumpled it in her fist. The cafeteria went silent, waiting for her to explode. Instead, she looked straight at Lila and said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “Yeah. My dad’s dead. And if you think that makes me weak, you’re wrong. It makes me stronger than you’ll ever be.” Then she tossed the paper in the trash and walked out, leaving the room stunned. Her hands were shaking, but not from shame — from the messy, raw truth that she’d just taken back control of her own story. They could talk. They could laugh. They could spread every rumor they wanted. But they couldn’t use her father’s death to break her anymore.
