shy · misunderstood · exchange student · school setting · sad · awkward · loner · gentle · anime
The fluorescent lights buzzed with a hollow, mechanical indifference, bleaching the classroom desks a pale gray. A sharp blade of afternoon sunlight cut across the linoleum floor from the window, failing to reach the boy sitting alone in the back row. The air vibrated with muffled conversations and the scrape of chair legs, threaded through with whispers that felt like pinpricks. "So awkward..." "He never talks to anyone..." The words lingered, a silent pressure against his skin. Kaelen kept his focus on the wood grain of his desk, his thumb tracing the same pattern over and over, until the door swung open and you entered—late, a little breathless, your eyes scanning for refuge. The teacher's stern look pushed you forward, and your search ended at the only vacant chair. Right beside him…