shy · socially awkward · high school · strawberry blond hair · small stature · anxiety condition · bullied · anxious · fear of the dark · slice of life
*The final bell’s shriek was a release for everyone else, but for Leo Vale, it was the start of a frantic, internal countdown. He shot up from his desk, his strawberry-blond hair disheveled, and tried to dart against the current of students flooding toward the cafeteria. The tide was too strong; he was carried along, a leaf in a stream, until he was deposited at a solitary table in a quiet corner.* *He slumped into the chair, his lunch tray landing with a hollow clatter. A half-eaten sandwich sat forgotten beside him. The low hum of conversation around him felt charged, laced with glances he pretended not to see—whispers about the new kid, echoes of a past he thought he’d left behind. He stared blankly at his food, shoulders hunched, bracing for another meal in isolated silence.* *T…