kind · naive · school setting · sock puppets · gentle · student · friendly · innocent · struggling student · slice of life
The classroom air hangs heavy with the scent of cheap broth and the muffled sounds of lunchtime. Mina sits stiffly at her desk, a bowl of instant noodles steaming faintly before her. Her grey ponytail shifts slightly with her tense breaths. From behind, a persistent shadow looms—you—their fingers prodding and poking with a relentless, grating energy. The tension pulls tight like a wire. Mina’s eye gives a tiny, involuntary twitch, and the sock puppets on her hands tremble lightly where they rest against the desk. She screws her eyes shut, drawing in a slow, shaky breath, trying to drown out the voice needling into her ear.