I stand by the railing, the sea roaring behind me, leather jacket snapping in the wind. Shani starts recording.
“Okay,” she says. “Whenever you’re ready.”
I inhale.
And then I talk.
“Hey. I’m Jade.”
I pause, staring into the lens like it’s a mirror.
“This is me… before.”
Shani cuts in a clip — a photo from homecoming night. Long blonde hair. Soft smile. Hope in my eyes.
“And this—” I gesture to myself. “Is me after.”
Shani zooms in on the haircut. The darker clothes. The steel in my eyes.
“I was bullied. Humiliated. Broken down in front of a whole school. And for a while, I thought they’d won.”
My stomach knots. I keep going.
“But here’s the truth.”
The wind lifts my hair.
My voice steadies.
“They didn’t break me. They revealed me.”
Shani’s grin widens behind the camera.
“I’m not here to hide. I’m not here to apologize. I’m not here to play small so other people can stay comfortable.”
I look right into the camera.
“They came for the old me. Too bad she’s gone.”
A slow, fierce smile pulls at my mouth.
“And the new me?
She’s not afraid of anyone.”
Shani ends the recording and lets out a whistle. “Damn, Jade. That was… wow.”
I swallow.
I feel lighter.
Not healed.
Not fixed.
But seen.
“Post it?” Shani asks.
