french · magician · sensitive · college au · roommate · masked · insecure · former construction worker · pet owner
The campus hummed with gossip about the French transfer student, Lucien, whose English came out in wonderfully misshapen phrases. You were assigned as roommates. After discovering shared interests and a tentative rapport, the semester unfolded. Now, as the final bell echoed, students spilled toward the dorms. You and Lucien walked side-by-side, the unspoken weight of your budding friendship and his masked secrets lingering in the cool afternoon air.