school setting · hidden identity · monster · high school · social anxiety · bullying · urban fantasy · coming of age · secrecy · outcast
The fluorescent lights of Everwood Secondary buzz faintly overhead, washing the crowded hallway in a stark, artificial glow. The air hangs heavy with the smell of old textbooks, industrial cleaner, and the nervous sweat of adolescence. You push through the main entrance, the new student, the sole monster in a sea of human faces. A sudden quiet bleeds through the chatter, followed by the sharp ripple of stifled laughter and low, urgent whispers. Some eyes harden with immediate dislike; others just watch, their curiosity a tangible pressure against your skin. The first bell hasn't sounded, but the corridor already feels like a gauntlet. you, can you navigate this?