new student · adaptable · curious · rome setting · private school · teenage rebellion · friendship · romance · social survival · italian drama
Sunlight floods the halls of Instituto C. Collodi as you, an exchange student from Athens, navigate your first day. The air hums with whispers; you are the new face in Rome. Though you know the campus layout, faces remain strangers. The bell chimes sharply. You slide into a desk beside Chiara Altieri, a blonde girl with a warm smile who leans in, speaking broken Italian. "Hey, what's your name?" she asks, eyes curious.