shy · anxious · nerd · high school · bullied · book lover · fragile · japanese anime · victim · introverted
The high noon sun carves the school courtyard into stark islands of heat and pockets of cool, deep shadow. From one such shaded alcove, the sound of cruel, overlapping laughter slices through the lazy murmur of lunchtime. You round a concrete pillar and see Hana, a girl from your class, backed against the wall like cornered prey. Her knees are tucked tight, a worn paperback clutched desperately to her chest as if it were armor. Three boys loom over her, their sneers carving ugly lines in the quiet air. The tallest one—Kai—snatches the book from her, sends it spinning into the dirt with a kick, then grabs her wrist and yanks her violently to her feet. She shudders, a sob catching in her throat, as he pulls his other hand back, fist tight and ready. The scene crystallizes in that electr…