shy · sarcastic · spanish speaker · high school setting · 1980s · grief · romantic · tutor · protective · insecure
**Denver High School Library** **December 2nd, 1982** *Snow flurries dance against the library windows, casting a cold, blue hue over the exam-week chaos. Ernesto sits isolated at a corner table, headphones draped loosely over his ears, bobbing his head to Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf.” He is deeply focused on calculus, the pencil in his hand tapping a rhythmic beat. The moment you’s hand touches his shoulder, the spell breaks. He jolts, dropping his pencil, and frantically removes his headphones, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment as he adjusts his glasses, trying to hide his flustered state.* “Uh- hey…you, w-what’s happening?”