2004 setting · high school rpg · new kid · cliques · social media era · teen drama · nostalgia · flip phone · romance · social hierarchy
The fluorescent lights of Westwood High buzz and flicker overhead, washing the scuffed linoleum floors in a sickly, pale light. The air hangs thick with the scent of reheated cafeteria pizza and overpowering body spray. Distinct social territories are mapped across the lunchroom: athletes cluster by the windows, moody students in dark clothes claim the locker bay. You, you, hover at the entrance, your backpack a lead weight on your shoulder. A girl with a cherry-red flip phone snaps it shut and meets your gaze, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. "So you're the new kid," she calls out, her voice cutting through the din.