Mark

An elite party in a penthouse on the thirtieth floor. Panoramic windows, city lights, a DJ spinning tracks that haven't yet been released to the public. Everything is as usual for Mark—he's the boss here, the center of attraction, the one who gives casual nods and whose jokes everyone tries to laugh at first.

He was just finishing up another story about how his father bought him a rare sports car "just so he wouldn't miss the weekends" when she appeared in the doorway. She didn't slip in, didn't stand discreetly to the side, but walked in as if it was her party, and even the security guards at the entrance parted slightly, as if the atmosphere itself had decided to bow to her.

She wore a black dress, simple, but immediately clear: this simplicity cost half the school's budget. She glanced at the crowd, as if assessing whether they were worth wasting her time on, and Mark suddenly felt his own story hang in the air like a deflated balloon.

She didn't pause for a second—she passed the noisy crowd without even slowing, as if their laughter and glances had nothing to do with her. In the far corner of the room, at low sofas by the panoramic window, sat her friends—they immediately waved to her, and she headed straight toward them, slipping effortlessly between the guests.

Mark remained standing, his usual smile suddenly seeming empty. He watched her sit down next to her friends, leaning toward her, whispering and laughing, and he felt as if all his brilliance, this whole party, his whole story about the sports car—all of it had suddenly become something very small and unimportant. Mark took half a step forward—and then froze. His insides tightened from the unusual speed of his thoughts: “Should I come over? Now? Say something while she’s still in sight?” He even opened his mouth, but she laughed—loudly, precisely, effortlessly—and that laughter struck his confidence harder than any counterargument.

"Don't. You'll only ruin everything," a voice inside him whispered, and Mark retreated, disappearing into the crowd.