I remember the smell of floor polish in the middle school hallway.
It was Tuesday morning, the kind of gray day that made everything feel heavy.
My hands felt clammy around the edges of the poster board.
This rainforest diorama was everything for me that day.
Mrs. Davies was super strict about science projects, no exceptions.
I had stayed up late for three nights making it perfect.
The tiny palm trees were perfectly glued to the mossy base.
I had sculpted the cardboard mountains with such care, painting them brown and green.
The little plastic animals, capuchin monkeys and a jaguar, were strategically placed.
I even used green colored water mixed with gelatin for the river.
I could almost picture the A+ in my head already.
This project was going to pull my science grade up.
It felt like my last chance to impress Mrs. Davies.
I had always been a little invisible in school, just blending in.
Chloe used to be different though, she used to see me.
We had been inseparable since fifth grade.
We shared secrets, made up silly dances, and ate lunch together every single day.
But then summer happened, and something just shifted.
She started hanging out with the popular crowd, like Marcus and Liam.
They were older, cooler, and seemed to have endless inside jokes.
Chloe started ignoring my texts, leaving me on read for hours.
When we saw each other in school, her hellos became quick and distant.
Her new friends would sometimes make little jokes at my expense.
Chloe would just laugh along, a tight, uncomfortable smile on her face.
I tried to pretend it didn't hurt, but it always did.
I still hoped things would go back to normal eventually.
Maybe she was just busy, I told myself over and over.
Then I saw Chloe coming towards me from the other end of the hall.
She was walking with Marcus and Liam, her new best friends.
Her smile was a little too bright as she talked to Marcus.
She was laughing loudly at something he said, her head thrown back.
My heart did a little flutter of anxiety in my chest.
I always felt this pang of hope and dread when I saw her now.
Would she wave? Would she smile genuinely? Or would she just walk past?
Her eyes flickered over my carefully balanced diorama for a split second.
I was carrying it with both hands, cradling it like a fragile baby.
The bell was about to scream any second, signaling the rush.
The hallway was getting incredibly crowded then, a sea of backpacks and chatter.
Kids were pushing past each other to get to class, urgency in their steps.
Chloe's trajectory didn't seem to change as she approached.
She didn't look like she even registered my presence, or my project.
My breath hitched nervously in my throat, a knot forming.
I thought she would definitely swerve to avoid me and the diorama.
But she kept coming closer and closer, her laughter echoing brightly.
Then her heavy backpack, adorned with pins, just brushed my arm.
It wasn't a huge push, more like a casual, dismissive nudge.
But my diorama wobbled violently in my grip.
My fingers tightened instantly, trying to compensate and keep it steady.
It was already much too late to save it from falling.
The entire rainforest ecosystem tilted precariously in my arms.
Tiny trees, plastic animals, and cardboard mountains tumbled.
They scattered across the dirty linoleum floor with soft thuds.
The plastic jaguar slid away, coming to rest near a locker.
A plastic gorilla rolled under someone's dirty sneaker.
The cardboard mountain, painstakingly crafted, crumpled a little at the edges.
My carefully constructed river, made of green jelly-like water, split open.
Green water started pooling immediately on the floor, spreading fast.
My entire beautiful river just burst apart, staining the linoleum.
A collective gasp rippled through the few nearby students.
Chloe just kept walking then, not even glancing back at the mess.
She didn't even turn her head to acknowledge what happened.
She was still laughing brightly with Marcus and Liam, as if nothing happened.
Marcus, however, glanced back quickly, his eyes wide for a second.
His eyes met mine in a flash of something, maybe surprise or pity.
Then he quickly looked away, following Chloe and Liam.
A few kids nearby stopped dead in their tracks, mouths slightly open.
They just watched the growing mess with wide, curious eyes.
The green water was spreading quickly now, making the floor slick.
My painstakingly detailed project was utterly ruined, shattered into pieces.
It felt like my stomach dropped completely out of me.
Everything was happening in agonizing slow motion, yet too fast.
I could hear the first whispers starting to ripple through the onlookers.
"What happened?" one girl muttered to her friend.
"Oh my god, her project," another whispered, pointing.
