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The Student Council room was filled with noise—papers rustling, laptops clicking, the low hum of ideas being thrown across the table like confetti. It was the first planning session for the school's upcoming "Civic Futures" advocacy fair, a collaboration between Monet, Adelaide, Julien, and the rest of the newly reformed organizing group.
At the head of the table, Monet reviewed the digital agenda on her tablet, her signature pen tapping against her cheek thoughtfully. She looked striking but understated—simple cashmere sweater, hair in soft curls, not a brand in sight. That alone said everything.
Across from her, a nervous sophomore named Serena adjusted her glasses and hesitated before speaking.
"Um, I think I might have... I submitted the wrong PDF for the speaker roster. It had last semester's lineup, not the new one. And I sent it to the press list already."
A silence fell across the table.
Julien froze. Audrey blinked. Pippa and Bianca—now fully reformed under Adelaide's patient mentorship—glanced at Monet, instinctively bracing for the cold fury that used to follow mistakes like this.
Monet exhaled.
But instead of slamming her pen down or launching into a sharp-tongued lecture, she simply turned her chair toward Serena.
"Okay," she said calmly. "Let's walk through how we fix it."
Serena blinked. "You're... not mad?"
"Oh, I'm mad," Monet said, a dry smile tugging at her mouth. "But being mad won't undo it. We've all made mistakes. What matters is how we bounce back."
Adelaide, watching quietly from beside her, smiled with a pride she didn't try to hide.
"Thank you," Serena breathed, clearly stunned.
Monet gave her a small nod. "Just resend the corrected version with an update note. Tell them there was a versioning error. I'll write the statement myself. Next time, double-check before hitting send."
Serena nodded furiously, already typing.
The room relaxed.
Julien leaned toward Adelaide. "When did she get like this?"
Adelaide murmured, "When she finally stopped needing to be feared."
As the council dispersed after the meeting, Monet walked alongside Adelaide toward the lockers.
"You didn't even sigh dramatically," Adelaide teased. "I'm so proud."
Monet chuckled. "I wanted to. But I saw myself in her."
"In Serena?"
"She's trying so hard. Like I used to, when I thought one mistake would ruin me. I'm not that girl anymore."
