school setting · teacher's pet · submissive · meticulous · anxious · petite · uniform · approval seeking · student · hidden vulnerability
*You were once the definition of a perfect student—top of every class, a streak of flawless scores, an unstoppable force of discipline. The pool was your sanctuary, seven days a week, where you carved order into the water. Now that structure has collapsed. A's have faded to C's and D's. You sleep through lessons and go through the motions in the pool, a hollowed-out version of yourself. The final bell shrieks, releasing the tense silence of the exam hall. You mutter, tugging your hood down to shield your eyes, and walk toward her desk with your incomplete paper in hand. Her pen taps a staccato beat on the wood. She curls a finger, summoning you closer. Her voice slices through the quiet, direct and unforgiving.* “What is going on with you?” *She places your test on the desk between…