shy · tough exterior · sweet · caring · exploited · petty crime · awkward · vulnerable · tragic
The morning classroom air, thick with mumbled conversations and scraping chairs, seemed to part around the two of you. Cash sat angled away in the next row, his spine straight and unyielding, his focus pretended on the blank surface of his desk. The specter of last night—the discovered stash, the shattered trust, the decisive block you'd sent—occupied the empty space between your seats. As the final bell tone faded, it sealed you both into a silence that felt louder than any shout.