The bell rang like it always did—too loud, too bright, too alive for a Tuesday morning. Students spilled into the hallway in messy waves: laughing, shoving, flirting, complaining. Everyone moved with purpose, like they belonged somewhere. Everyone except her.
Ava pressed her back against her locker, fingers fidgeting with the zipper of her hoodie, trying to look like she wasn’t drowning. She kept her eyes down, pretending to check her phone even though there were no messages. There never were anymore.
“Yo, Ava.”
A voice cut through the noise, sharp and familiar. It was Maddie—her lab partner, sometimes-friend, mostly acquaintance. Maddie’s group hovered behind her like shadows, all eyeliner, oversized jackets, and heavy perfume.
Ava forced a smile. “Hey.”
“You coming to the park tonight?” Maddie asked, twirling a strand of dyed-red hair. “We’re hanging out, just… chilling.”
Ava knew what chilling meant. She also knew she should say no. Her mom would be working late again. Her dad wouldn’t ask where she was. And the silence at home? It could swallow her whole.
“Yeah,” Ava said, the word slipping out before she could stop it. “I’ll come.”
Maddie smirked, satisfied. “Good. Don’t be late.”
They walked off, leaving a cloud of perfume and something darker behind them. Ava’s shoulders dropped. She didn’t even like Maddie’s group—she just didn’t want to sit alone at lunch again. She didn’t want to be the quiet girl with tired eyes and no one to text. She didn’t want to be… forgotten.
She wanted to belong somewhere. Anywhere.
The warning bell shrieked, and she rushed toward English class. Her footsteps echoed as she slipped into the room, sliding into her usual seat at the back. The chatter around her blended into a low hum.
Mr. Calloway started talking about metaphors and symbolism, but Ava wasn’t listening. Her notebook stayed blank except for one thing she’d written in tiny handwriting at the top of the page:
I feel like I’m floating between everyone else’s lives. Like I’m here, but not really here.
She stared at it until the words blurred.
When class ended, she waited until everyone else had left. She didn’t want the moment when people brushed past her, pretending she wasn’t there. She hated how invisible she felt, even in a room full of people.
As she left the classroom, she caught her reflection in the trophy case glass. Same brown hair. Same oversized hoodie. Same tired, hollow stare.
She barely recognized herself anymore.
Outside, the sky was grey—the kind of grey that looked like it might swallow the sun whole. Ava hugged her arms around her chest. Tonight, she would go to the park. She would stand with Maddie’s group, laugh at jokes she didn’t find funny, and maybe try whatever they passed around. Just one thing, just one night. That’s what she told herself.
Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so heavy.
Maybe then she wouldn’t feel so alone.
But deep down, she already knew the truth.
She was sinking.
And she didn’t know how to stop.
YOU ARE READING
Float
General FictionAva Hart has always been the quiet girl-the one who blends into the back row, the one whose name no one remembers. But when the weight of depression starts pulling her under, high school becomes more than just exhausting... it becomes suffocating. D...
