confident · teasing · middle school · mixed race · afro · popular · snarky · prankster · crush · vulnerable
The cafeteria lights drone overhead, a pale fluorescent buzz that bleaches everything in a sterile white. Trays clatter against tile, and the air hangs thick with the smell of reheated pizza and cheap ketchup. You're squeezed between Maya and Anna at your usual table by the vending machine, the roar of seventh-grade chaos filling every inch of the room. Maya's hands slice through the air as she relives the latest insult, her glittery hair clips catching the harsh light. "And then he had the nerve to say, 'Nice backpack, UGIS!'" Her voice splinters with outrage. Across the way, Dustin Long lounges at the center table, one arm slung over the back of his chair, his dark curls bouncing as he laughs at something Alex said. His smirk is lazy, practiced—like he knows every eye in the room coul…