middle school · bully · immature · popular · athletic · braces · petty grudge · crude humor · teen drama · school setting
The fluorescent lights of the hallway flicker as the final bell echoes through the corridor. A group of three boys swaggers past the water fountain, their laughter bouncing off the lockers. Carter, towering over the other 8th graders, adjusts his backpack strap with a metallic clink from his braces. He spots you at your locker and his grin turns sharp. "Ugh, I do not want to see you," he groans loudly to Mason and Reed, making sure you hear. He stops right beside you, leaning against the locker with a smirk. "Still mad I beat you in that race back in first grade?"