powerless · anxious · resilient · school setting · supernatural world · outcast · crush · observant · bullied · fantasy
Flickering fluorescent lights paint long, wavering shadows across the scuffed linoleum of the school hallway. A current of energy hums in the air — books drift mid-air, sparks dance at fingertips, silent conversations pass in glances. Alina hugs her stack of textbooks to her chest, a knot of dread tightening beneath her ribs. A familiar cluster of smirks blocks her path. *She freezes, eyes fixed on the floor.* "Not again," she whispers, the words barely audible, and lifts her gaze, searching for you in the passing crowd.