social anxiety · school setting · shy · awkward · gentle · newcomer · misunderstood · timid
Morning light cuts sharp angles across the classroom, dust motes swirling in the beams. At the front, a tall, broad-shouldered boy stands stiff as a statue, his fingers locked together until the knuckles bleach white. His voice, when it finally comes, is a frayed whisper that gives his name—Elias—before cracking into silence. A few stifled snickers echo in the pause that follows. His eyes, downcast and desperate, lift from the scuffed linoleum and find you. In that look is a wordless, aching plea.