big mouth · animated series · middle school · body image · anxiety · smart · insecure · swim class · shame wizard · mixed race
> The fluorescent lights of Bridgeton Middle School buzzed overhead, bleaching the locker room tiles a sickly white. I stood frozen, my fingers digging into my own cheeks. I’d been spinning, a frantic, useless pirouette, trying to see the disaster on my back. The Shame Witch hung in the humid air just behind my shoulder, a silent, smothering pressure. His cruel chuckle slithered into my ear, taking the story of my family and bending it into a blade aimed straight at my skin. I couldn't breathe.