The clock above the whiteboard ticked toward the end of the last class of the day, but none of us were really paying attention anymore-except Octavia, who never missed a beat, even when the entire class was one distracted blink away from mentally checking out.

She tapped the edge of her clipboard with that signature steel-tinged elegance and cleared her throat. The room silenced.

"The time is approaching," she began, her voice calm and slicing through the chatter like a royal blade. "You have ten days before your final assignments will be issued. After that, only seven of you will be selected to remain as part of the official Crown Press Internship Program."

My stomach dropped just a little.

"This will be based on your journalistic integrity, your discretion, adaptability... and your ability to tell the truth-whether or not it suits the narrative."

She looked directly at me when she said that.

Of course she did.

Next to me, Jenny straightened in her seat. Clarice exhaled under her breath. We all exchanged glances. This was real now. No more trial period. This was our last sprint.

Once class was dismissed, I grabbed my bag and rushed out with Jenny and Clarice, our shoes echoing across the stone corridor.

"You got the decorations?" I asked Clarice in a low voice.

"Yep. Balloons, posters, pink fairy lights, and a cardboard cutout of Edward Cullen that might haunt Amelia for life."

"I got the musical playlist," Jenny said, scrolling through her phone. "It's mostly Mamma Mia, but I added Beetlejuice's 'Dead Mom' for chaos."

"That's... mood whiplash," I muttered.

"I know. She'll love it."

As we turned the corner near the inner courtyard, we nearly bumped into Frederick, who was holding a bouquet of sparkler candles and an actual disco tiara.

"Wow," he said, joining us with an unbothered grin. "You all look suspicious."

"Shh!" we chorused in perfect panic harmony.

Then, of course, disaster walked around the corner with a sparkly bag and suspiciously cheerful energy.

Amelia.

"What are you four doing?" she asked, blinking innocently.

We all froze.

Frederick dropped the tiara behind his back like he was holding contraband. "Uh. Royal business."

"Secret... scholarship meeting," Clarice blurted.

"I thought I saw a hedgehog in the garden," Jenny offered weakly.

Amelia squinted at us. "You're lying."

"Amelia," I said calmly, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Go do your nails. Go watch Twilight. Go scream about fictional men. Just... don't ask questions until tomorrow."

She opened her mouth.

Frederick shoved a pink macaron in it.

"Good talk," he said. "See you later, cousin."

We disappeared before she could spit it out.

By 10 PM, the palace's royal wing was officially empty. Most of the nobles and the studenta had gone for weekend getaways, meaning we had exactly two hours before midnight and an entire themed party to set up.

Jenny was stringing up pink lights shaped like little flowers. Clarice was positioning tiny glosses and sparkly hair clips into decorative bowls like they were gemstones. Frederick was dramatically dancing to Dancing Queen in the corner while inflating balloons and quoting Beetlejuice every ten minutes.

And I?

I was elbow-deep in vanilla buttercream, trying to pipe "Happy Birthday, Amelia" onto a triple-layer strawberry cake while praying it wouldn't collapse under the edible glitter.

That's when he walked in.

Maxwell.

Casual white shirt, sleeves rolled up, hair slightly tousled like he'd just escaped an editorial photoshoot-but he just came from fencing.

"I heard there's a cake crisis," he said, walking in like he owned the kitchen. Technically... he sort of did.

"I'm focused," I warned him. "One more poorly timed smirk and I'm writing 'Happy Barfday.'"

He grinned, stepping closer. "I've never seen someone look so serious about buttercream."

I tried to keep a straight face. "It's an art."

"It's adorable."

He leaned in to sneak a fingerful of frosting.

I slapped his hand away. "Not unless you want to lose a finger, Your Highness."

"You're terrifying," he whispered-and kissed me on the cheek.

"Stop distracting me," I whispered back, cheeks heating.

He kissed the other cheek. "Can't help it."

"Maxwell."

"What? I'm being supportive."

"You're being annoyingly charming."

He tucked a curl behind my ear and grinned. "You love it."

I rolled my eyes, but I didn't move away. "Fine. If the cake collapses, it's your fault."

"I'll take full responsibility." He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "And I'll buy her five more cakes if it saves yours."

We didn't even notice Jenny peeking in, holding her phone up like a camera.

"Caught you being disgustingly cute," she announced. "Also, the cutout of Edward Cullen just fell over."

"Probably crushed by the weight of toxic masculinity," Frederick added.

Clarice called from the hall, "Ten minutes to midnight!"

Maxwell straightened beside me, squeezing my hand.

"Ready?" he asked.

"For Amelia?" I nodded, wiping a bit of frosting off my apron. "Always."

And so, with music queued, candles lit, glitter every-freaking-where, and a pink-themed fever dream ready to explode-

We prepared to welcome chaos incarnate into her seventeen-year-old reign.

We killed the lights the second we heard Amelia's shoes clicking faintly down the hall-delicate little impatient taps that somehow matched her energy perfectly.

"Okay," Jenny whispered, crouching behind the Edward Cullen cutout. "Everyone in position."

Clarice checked the glitter confetti in her hands.

Frederick held the disco tiara like a ceremonial crown.

I stood near the cake, breath caught in my throat, heart hammering as the doors creaked open.

And then-she stepped in.

"Why are the lights off?" Amelia called, confused. "Is someone-AH!"

"SURPRISE!"

The lights exploded on. Confetti flew into the air. The speakers blasted Mamma Mia. Edward Cullen stood proudly beside a giant pink balloon arch. The cake sparkled with pink candles, glitter, and layers of strawberry sweetness. Fairy lights danced along the walls, reflecting off every glittery makeup pot, every musical reference, every flower-patterned streamer we could find.

Amelia stood frozen, hand over her mouth.

"This is-" she blinked. "This is all... for me?"

I nodded, trying not to cry just watching her almost cry.

She didn't hold back. Tears welled up in her big brown eyes, and she immediately ran forward, throwing her arms around me in a hug so tight I dropped a frosting spatula.

"You promised," she whispered, burying her face into my shoulder. "You said you'd give me a real party. Not with toasts or protocols or fake gowns. A party just for me."

"And I keep my promises," I whispered back.

Then she pulled away, eyes sweeping the room.

"There's Twilight. And gloss. And glitter. And ABBA." She turned in a full circle, hands over her chest like she couldn't believe it. "This is my dream."

Clarice grinned. "You're welcome."

Frederick stuck the disco tiara on her head. "Queen of Chaos. Long may she reign."

Amelia wiped her tears away, laughing. "You guys are the absolute best. Thank you-everyone. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

She hugged Jenny and Clarice next, squishing them with affection, then awkwardly hugged Frederick while threatening him if he ever told anyone she cried.

Then she turned to me again, already smiling. "Okay. You. I need you. Makeup and hair. Stat."

I grinned. "Your wish is my royal command."

We set up on the cushioned bench beside the glitter-drenched snack table, and I pulled out the eyeshadow palette she gave me for my birthday weeks ago. She chose the colors-rose golds and dreamy purples-and I carefully brushed them on while she hummed to Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).

As I did her makeup, she gave a speech worthy of an award show: "I would like to thank the academy of overachievers who finally threw me a party that includes both ABBA and fake vampires. And also Amy for doing my makeup and making me look like a seventeen-year-old fairy queen."

Maxwell, who was watching from the corner while "guarding" the snack table, chuckled. "You look like you own this entire palace."

"Correction," Amelia said, fluttering her lashes. "Tonight, I do."

Once her makeup was done, we helped her zip into the pastel pink dress we had secretly stashed away in her size. It had flower appliqués along the shoulders and tiny gems stitched into the hem. She twirled, looked in the mirror, and gasped.

"I look like an actual Disney heroine. Not even kidding. This is criminal."

"Criminally fabulous," Jenny corrected.

Then the party exploded into full chaos.

We devoured an ungodly amount of snacks-fruit skewers shaped like hearts, cupcakes topped with tiny lipsticks, and about eight different kinds of gummy candy. Clarice and I started the dance party with Waterloo, and soon everyone was jumping around like maniacs. Even Frederick broke into a dramatic duet of Super Trouper with Jenny, using a hairbrush as a mic.

Maxwell pulled me aside during Lay All Your Love On Me, his hands finding mine as we danced barefoot, barely swaying but laughing anyway. "This is the loudest birthday I've ever witnessed," he whispered.

"She deserves every second of it."

He kissed my forehead. "You're kind of amazing, you know that?"

"You're kind of cheesy."

"That too."

As midnight passed and Amelia screamed about being seventeen while spinning in circles with a tiara slipping off her head, I sat back for a moment, taking it all in.

The chaos. The glitter. The music. The laughter.

The family.

It wasn't royal. It wasn't polished. It wasn't perfect.

But it was real.

The party had slowed into that sweet, dreamy haze where everyone was either full of sugar, barefoot, or half-sprawled across some pillow or chair in a glittery daze. The playlist still hummed with soft Mamma Mia covers, Amelia was twirling in her dress again-this time with a feather boa around her neck-and the pink fairy lights blinked like stars on low battery.

It was perfect.

I looked around the room-at Clarice and Jenny giggling with juice cups in hand, at Frederick and Amelia mock-arguing about who danced better during Dancing Queen, and at Maxwell, leaning by the kitchen door, arms crossed and that sleepy smile on his face like he was just... proud.

My heart felt full. But also a little heavy.

Because in the background of all this brightness, something tugged at me. A thread I hadn't followed in days.

My friends.

My old life.

Nate. Alyssa. Emily. Selena.

The group chats were quieter now. The FaceTime calls fewer and farther between. I knew they had exams. I knew life moved on. But still, I missed them.

I missed me with them.

I sat down on the window seat, pulling my knees to my chest, staring out at the black velvet sky, scattered with stars like powdered sugar.

Maxwell noticed.

Of course he did.

He walked over quietly and sat beside me, shoulder brushing mine.

"Hey," he said, voice low. "Where'd you go just now?"

I blinked. "Nowhere. Just... thinking."

He nudged me gently. "About?"

I hesitated, then exhaled. "I miss them. My friends back home. Nate, Alyssa, Emily, and Selena. I know they're busy with exams and projects and everything. I get it. But still..."

He nodded. "Have you tried texting them?"

"I did a few times," I said. "We still talk. But it's not the same. I think I just... miss being in the middle of their lives. Being part of everything."

He leaned closer, resting his chin briefly on my shoulder. "So... FaceTime them."

I turned my head. "Now?"

He smiled. "It's never a bad time to remind people you love them."

I bit my lip, hesitating. Then, I opened my phone and clicked Alyssa's contact. The screen rang, pixelated blue and white, once... twice... three times-

Then she picked up.

Her face was smooshed against a pillow, hair a mess, eyes blinking blearily.

"Hello?" she mumbled, still halfway asleep.

"Alyssa!"

She opened one eye. Then both. "Wait. WAIT. OH MY GOD. GUYS!"

Suddenly, she vanished from the screen as the phone shifted wildly.

I heard chaotic thumping, a thud, and what sounded like a lamp crashing. Then-

"AMYYYYYYY!"

All four of them piled into view. Nate, already misty-eyed. Selena waving like a maniac. Emily grinning ear to ear.

"You look SO glowy!" Selena gasped.

"Like you walked through a romantic montage and came out a better person," Alyssa added.

"You look happy," Emily said softly.

"I am," I said, heart thumping. "A lot's happened. But I'm good. I feel... like myself. Like a nice version of me I didn't know I could be."

Nate, of course, started crying.

"Oh, Nate," Alyssa said, half-laughing, wiping his cheek with her sleeve.

"I'm just proud of her, okay?" he sniffled.

They all laughed and cried and beamed, and I felt something warm unlock in my chest again. Something I didn't even realize had been aching.

We caught up a little more-talking about classes, about the wild assignments I'd been through, about how the palace food was suspiciously addictive-and then Emily grinned. "Sooo... anything romantic happening?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Define romantic."

"You know exactly what we mean," Selena said.

"I... might be crushing on someone."

Cue screaming.

"IS IT A PRINCE?" Alyssa demanded.

"DOES HE HAVE A HORSE?" Nate asked.

I laughed. "I'm not saying anything."

Just then, a familiar voice popped up beside me. "Hey, who are they? Why are they screaming? Are they all yelling at you or...?"

Amelia flopped beside me, cheeks still glittered from dancing.

I turned the screen to her. "Guys, this is Amelia."

"OMG HI AMELIA," they all shouted.

She blinked, then grinned wide. "Oh its Alyssa!"

"Hi girlie" Alyssa waved at her

"And you must be Nate, Emily and Selena. Amy is always crying about how much she misses you"

"Amelia," I muttered. "Do not embarrass me."

"She's glowing, isn't she?" Amelia whispered like it was a royal secret. "It's because of someone."

"Amelia!"

The call dissolved into more laughter before we finally said our goodnights. I promised to call again soon. They told me to take care of myself-and maybe get some chapstick for this mystery prince.

When I ended the call, the room felt softer.

Maxwell walked up as Amelia skipped back to the snack table.

"How was it?"

I looked at him, heart steady again.

"Perfect."

Because somehow... I wasn't missing home anymore.

Somehow, my world had just gotten bigger.

And I had a place in all of it.