Emma froze.
Her bright blue eyes darted to the empty space over my shoulder, frantically calculating if she could slip past me.
She couldn't. I had positioned myself perfectly in the center of the narrow, granite hallway.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about, Jin," Emma stammered. Her voice was painfully thin, lacking every single ounce of its usual warmth. She clutched her heavy bookbag higher up on her chest, using it as a physical shield.
"Why were you avoiding us?" I asked, keeping my tone perfectly even.
"You ran from Kyle this morning, and you've been hiding in the library since you got back to campus."
"I'm not avoiding anyone," she replied quickly, her words tumbling out in a rushed, panicked breath. "I've just been... busy. With coursework."
I didn't move, just raised a single eyebrow, letting the silence stretch out between us. Staring right into her eyes. It was a deliberate, silent pressure.
A clear, unspoken message: I know you're lying.
