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CHAPTER 72
~Valerie's POV~
The walk to Principal Whitmore's office felt longer than usual.
My boots echoed across the silent hallway, every step tapping into the tension coiled tight in my spine. The last time I was called into this office, I'd only just arrived at PSA. Back then, I thought that was the beginning of my problems.
Now I wasn't so sure where the beginning was… or if I'd even seen the worst of it.
I paused just outside the tall blackwood doors, hesitating. Inside, I could already feel her presence.
She wasn't calm, even though she was trying so hard to be. I knocked once.
"Enter," she said crisply.
I pushed open the door, bracing myself.
The room hadn't changed. Still pristine and perfect, the scent of aged parchment mixed with floral incense curled faintly in the air.
The tall windows were drawn, the room softly lit by floating glass orbs that cast quiet shadows across the stone floor.
