high school · american setting · outsider · international student · social dynamics · resilient · observant · coming of age · drama · cultural difference
The final bell's echo fades into the long corridor of scuffed linoleum. The fluorescent lights flicker slightly, casting a sterile glow over the rows of dented lockers. A current of voices and footsteps fills the air. You're planted just inside the entrance, an outsider in a tide of strangers. I notice you from my spot down the hall, your uncertainty palpable. First day?