Sugar Coated Bullets

Lavalton Academy. Est. 1847. Virtus et Scientia.
A school built for heirs, celebrities, and last names that own half of Vegas.
And one exception.
Aurelia Charlotte.
16. Adopted at 16 by the Charlotte family - a real estate empire that has never had an heir. Before that, she grew up in an orphanage, sharing everything she had. That's why she smiles too easily. Shares too easily. Is too kind in a school where kindness is a weakness.
On her first day, she walks into class early, arms full of colorful candies she bought to share.
"HEY GUYS! I AM NEW HERE, AND I HAVE SOME CANDIES TO SHARE WITH YOU GUYS!"
The room goes silent. Then it giggles.
Leading the giggles is Bianca Will - Lavalton's queen of bullying. To Bianca, Aurelia is just a charity case. A girl the Charlottes adopted for fun. A pretty, friendly, fake little orphan who needs to be put in her place.
And Bianca does.
Day by day, the sugar-coated bullets hit. Whispers about her orphan past. Rumors about the Charlottes. Candies crushed under designer heels. Notes in her locker. Laughter behind her back in the corners of the classroom.
Aurelia endures it all, until she can't.
The girl who believed in the class rules - Be Kind, Be Curious, Be Brave - written on the chalkboard, chooses silence forever.
But time doesn't let her leave.
She opens her eyes. Same classroom. Same chalkboard: Lavalton Academy - Algebra - Lesson 3. Same candies in her hands. Same first day.
She remembers everything.
This time, she doesn't smile.
Desmond remembers that 8-year-old girl in the orphanage who gave him her last mint candy before he was taken in by the Scotts.
For the first time in his life, Desmond hesitates.
For the first time, he wants to break his own rule.