The Day My Harmless Joke Landed on the Worst Possible Stranger

For a moment, Anna lost her breath, and the ground beneath her seemed to soften just enough to make her sway.

Without thinking, she curled her hand inside her coat pocket and felt the sharp edge of a key. The cool metal pressed into her palm, reminding her of the wide room in the old print shop, the huge windows, and the simple fact that now she had somewhere of her own to return to.

That small, solid reminder of real life was the sweetest feeling in the world. Behind Mike’s back, the square burst into applause, but the sound reached Anna as if through water.

Everything that had tormented her over the past week—the sideways looks, the whispers, the fear of tomorrow—suddenly shrank to something small and manageable.

She closed her eyes and let that dizzying sense of freedom wash over her completely. Now she knew for certain.

If the sun in her studio was blue, then blue it would be.