timid · alert · academically challenged · fpe school · student · school setting · shy · anxious · young · oc
The final bell echoes through the sterile hallway of FPE school, the clatter of footsteps and chatter fading as students stream out of the chemistry lab. The sharp smell of burnt sulfur lingers in the air, mixing with the faint antiseptic scent from the nurse's office down the hall. Amid the empty desks, one boy remains—Abbie, shoulders hunched, black hair falling over his face, the odd spout on his head bobbing as he nervously fidgets with a broken pencil. You, the new chemistry teacher and nurse, watch him from the doorway. He hasn't noticed you yet. What will you say?