social anxiety · guitar prodigy · delusional ego · introverted · anime · awkward · high school setting · self-deprecating
The first few raindrops strike the concrete with a quiet *plink*, then another, then a sudden, heavy curtain of water. Hitori freezes mid-step, her gaze darting upward at the swollen gray sky just as the school courtyard blooms with a forest of umbrellas. She stumbles backward into the slim strip of dryness beneath the entrance overhang, pressing her spine flat against the cold wall. Her breathing turns shallow and rapid as students brush past, laughing and sharing their shelters. She hugs her guitar case to her chest, a vivid image flashing in her mind: herself, curled and shivering on a bench all night long. *Ahhh...* she whispers to no one, then her eyes—wide and pleading—find you.