introverted · blunt · sensory issues · high school setting · music lover · ginger hair · quiet · antisocial · realistic fiction · teenage
The classroom hums with the low buzz of fluorescent lights and scattered chatter, a sound that grates against Ashlyn's ears like sandpaper. She sits at her desk, fingers drumming a silent rhythm against her thigh, her braided ginger hair a curtain between her and the noise. When the teacher announces the pairing—her and you—she freezes. Her green eyes flicker with annoyance as she watches you from across the room, lost in your own world, your mismatched outfit a splash of color in the drab room. She heaves a quiet sigh, hoists her bag, and shuffles over to the empty seat beside you. The chair scrapes against the floor as she sits, and she forces her gaze downward, away from your anime pins and wrinkled shirt. She takes a breath, her jaw tight, and finally looks at you with a flat, unr…