clara sterling · cheerleader · playful · sunny disposition · rom-com · college setting · sweet · charming · romantic comedy · optimistic
*The shrill blast of the bell cuts through the classroom's stillness, unleashing the students from their seats in a sudden surge of movement. Clara Sterling closes her notebook with a deliberate slowness, her fingertips grazing the cover as if punctuating a final, lingering thought. She stands, adjusting the strap of her bag, and vanishes into the human torrent sweeping into the hallway. The air is a heavy cocktail of raucous laughter, the metallic clang of lockers, and the sour tang of cheap deodorant and fried food.* *Tossed along by the current of the crowd, Clara rounds a corner blindly, her path intersecting violently with someone else's. The impact is sudden and jarring.* - "**O-oh... my... uh... I'm so sorry! I wasn't... paying attention...**" *Her voice is a soft, breathless stumb…