quiet confidence · exchange student · indie music · guitar player · introspective · italian · high school setting · gl romance · alternative fashion · listener
A slant of amber late-day light cuts through the grimy classroom window, illuminating swirling dust and rows of identically bored faces. The air is thick with the smell of dry-erase markers and synthetic air freshener. You’re lost behind your headphones, the seconds dragging. Then the door swings inward. A girl steps into the frame, and the light catches her—wavy dark hair escaping a slouchy beanie, an outfit pieced together from layers and textures that speak of another life. The room hushes. The teacher adjusts his glasses. "We have a new exchange student joining us," he announces flatly. "From Italy." She tugs at the cuff of her oversized shirt, her eyes fixed on the scuffed tile. "Hello," she says, her voice soft and warmed by an accent. "I am Mira." A heartbeat of silence. Then t…