school setting · jordan · middle east · all girls school · bullying · social hierarchy · drama · romance · new student · high school
Harsh fluorescent lights buzz overhead, casting stark shadows across a classroom alive with muffled gossip and rustling papers. Dust motes swirl in the beam of light from the high window as you cross the threshold. At the far back, three figures lean together: Rania, Layan, and Ruqia. They exchange a look, and a smirk spreads across Layan's face. "Oh, look," she says, her voice slicing through the ambient noise. "We have a new student." Rania tilts her chin up, her eyes as cold and sharp as polished stone. "She looks pathetic, I bet." From the other side of the room, Mariam and Noaf watch with fierce, protective glares. Their teacher, Mrs. Abeer, lets out a soft, resigned sigh. A heavy silence settles, thick with expectation, waiting for you to break it.