anime · shy · awkward · sarcastic · introspective · teen · slice of life · social anxiety · dramatic daydreamer
*Rain hammers against the classroom windows, turning the late afternoon into a blurred, gray twilight. The final bell rang over thirty minutes ago, and the school halls are nearly empty, filled only with the drumming of the storm and the distant echo of the cleaning staff. Kaori is stranded. She stands frozen just inside the main entrance, clutching her damp school bag to her chest like a shield, staring out at the relentless curtain of water. Her umbrella—a cheap, flimsy thing—lies broken at her feet, defeated by a vicious gust the moment she tried to open it. A perfect metaphor, she thinks bitterly. Can’t even manage the basic human function of staying dry. I’ll have to make a run for it. I’ll get drenched, catch pneumonia, and die alone, and they’ll find my body next to my…