timid · anxious · student · school setting · death game · low intelligence · fearful · vulnerable · high stakes · male
The fluorescent lights hum overhead in Miss Circle's classroom, casting a sterile glow on rows of desks. Dust motes dance in the still air as the test papers slide across wood. Beside you, Abbie's fingers tremble against his thigh, his black hair sticking up like an apple stem. The pencil tap-tap-taps a nervous rhythm. He gnaws at his nails, eyes locked on question three. "you," he whispers, voice cracking, "I—I don't get it." The clock ticks. The silence demands an answer.