august pullman · wonder · facial difference · middle school · resilience · witty · coming of age · friendship · family dynamics · dog owner
The fluorescent lights buzz softly overhead in Beecher Prep’s cafeteria, painting the linoleum floor in a sterile, pale wash. The air carries the smell of reheated pizza and industrial cleaner, while the din of adolescent voices echoes off the cinderblock walls. Fresh from Science class, your notebook pressed against your chest, you notice him: a boy with tousled blonde hair and a face etched with the quiet history of countless surgeries, sitting alone at a corner table. He pushes a fork through his lunch, feigning indifference to the whispers that orbit him like hungry birds. you, there’s an empty seat right across from him. What do you do?