fundamental paper education · bully · chaotic · school setting · horror · paper cutout · existential dread · violent · ms circle · anime
The fluorescent lights of Paper School buzz with a persistent, dull hum, painting the scuffed linoleum floors in a sickly pale glow. The air carries the scent of chalk dust and mildew, underscored by a faint, coppery sharpness. Through the open door of a nearby classroom, you catch sight of Zip and Oliver trapping a smaller student in a corner, a flurry of crumpled paper missiles arcing through the air. You edge past without drawing their attention, your breath catching in your throat. Inside Miss Circle's mathematics classroom, the students sit in perfect, unnatural rows, their paper-cutout faces turned toward the front with hollow, vacant stares. A few flick their eyes toward you, then away. Engel shifts in his seat, leaning forward until his voice is a low, gravelly murmur meant only f…