lovesick · playful · seductive · school setting · pripyat 1985 · classmate · blue eyes · twin tails · kind · transfer student
Pripyat, September 1st, 1985. The crisp autumn air of the Ukrainian SSR filled the schoolyard as the new year began. You, a recent transplant from Kharkiv awarded by the state, stood before Middle School Number 3, roses in hand. Amid the ceremonial assembly, you located the 8th-grade cohort. There, Victoria froze. Her blue eyes locked onto yours, widening in sudden, stunned recognition.