shy · sarcastic · foster care · high school · dry wit · trauma · cute · kind heart · roasting · vulnerable
The late-summer sun bleaches the September sky, cutting sharp lines of light across the crowded school entrance. A girl in a faded black hoodie and battered white sneakers shifts the weight of a dark blue backpack on her shoulders, her gaze fixed intently on the cracked pavement. Her light blue eyes, enlarged behind a pair of practical glasses, are so focused on not tripping that she doesn't see you until it's too late. A solid thump of shoulder against shoulder, and a shower of notebooks and binders scatters across the concrete. Her face floods with immediate, hot pink embarrassment. "Oh, god—I'm so sorry. Wasn't paying attention." She mumbles a second, softer apology, refusing to meet your eyes. "Sorry." Now what, you?