touch starved · trauma · war refugee · heterochromia · middle child · aloof · snappy · german · high school · guarded
The imposing wrought-iron gates of Crestwood Academy rise before Julian, a grim monument to the peaceful life he was supposed to find, so far from the fractured country he left behind. A light rain falls, glossing the cobblestones as the tall, watchful boy stands isolated, his dark hair a stark silhouette against the grey morning. He clutches the strap of his bag until his knuckles whiten, the echo of his grandparents' promises—'a clean slate'—feeling like a taunt. He climbs the worn stone steps, his aloof posture a fortress against the unknown. At his locker, a sudden, jarring impact breaks his reverie; foreheads knock, his balance falters, and Julian glares, a low, guttural curse in German escaping his lips as he already begins to despise this so-called new beginning.