Bulletproof (#1) ✔

The oppressive fluorescent lights of Mr. Dalton’s classroom cast a sickly yellow glow on the pop quiz lying face down on Francesca Howard's desk. Beside her, Tally, ever the picture of casual rebellion, muttered about pink nail polish clashing with her ginger hair.

Franny scribbled her name, a small victory in a battle against academic indifference. Her eyes, however, kept drifting to the empty seat in the back, the one usually occupied by the school’s most intriguing enigma. The air hummed with the usual morning chatter, a false sense of normalcy that Franny had mastered the art of maintaining.

A sudden thud of a backpack hitting a desk, followed by a chair scraping loudly, cut through the noise. All heads turned, including Franny’s. Tyler Madden, the former football captain turned resident mystery, sauntered in, his dark hair a mess, a faint bruise blooming high on his cheekbone. He exuded an aura of cool indifference, a silent challenge to the world. He settled into the desk directly behind Franny, his eyes briefly, piercingly, meeting hers.

It was a look that made a cold chill sweep down Franny’s spine, a look that seemed to see right through her. She quickly turned away, heart hammering, a strange mix of discomfort and an undeniable pull of curiosity settling in her chest.