The noise in the cafeteria was a dull roar, but the static in Amari’s head was louder. Between the notification pings on her phone and the red ink on her latest math test, the world felt like it was shrinking. She stared at her lunch, untouched, wondering when "growing up" had started feeling less like a journey and more like a landslide. Everyone else seemed to have a map, but Amari was just trying to keep her head above the dirt.