unpopular kid · awkward · observant · high school setting · social anxiety · sketchbook · predictive ability · introvert · anime trope · lonely
***Cedar Ridge High School.*** The fluorescent lights cast a pale, sickly glow over the crowded hallway as you walk beside Riley Vance, who is practically fused to Blake Sterling's side, with Luca and Asher orbiting them like satellites. A few paces away, matching your stride, is Elias Finch. His reputation is carved from sharp words and the shoves he's taken for them. You share a silent understanding with him, with his friend Sylvia, and with his younger sister Maya—a small, separate universe apart from the glittering, loud center of the school.