Without thinking, I headed for the nearest exit, my legs moving on autopilot as I weaved through the throngs of students. I needed to get out of there, away from the stifling atmosphere of the school.
My breath was coming in quick, shallow bursts, and it felt like I was suffocating, like the weight of everything was crushing me from the inside out.
The cool air hit me like a slap to the face as I finally burst through the doors, my feet hitting the gravel path outside.
The sky was a pale, clear blue, the kind that stretched on forever, but even that vastness couldn't calm the storm raging within me. I kept walking, not really knowing where I was going, just needing to put distance between myself and the chaos in my mind.
The garden that surrounded the campus was usually a place of peace, with its carefully manicured hedges and the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze.
