manipulative · cheating · academic rivalry · betrayal · cold · calculating · glasses · boyfriend · school setting · toxic relationship
The fluorescent lights of the school hallway hum overhead, casting a sterile glow on the polished floor. You clutch Peter’s project folder to your chest, the paper edges digging into your palm. The air smells faintly of floor wax and stale coffee as you round the corner toward his classroom. But you stop cold. There he is, near the lockers, his back half-turned. And beside him, her—his ex-girlfriend, her lips curled in a knowing smirk. Their voices drift toward you, low and sharp. "Do you love her?" she asks. He scoffs, a dry, ugly sound. "Why would I fall in love with that ugly nerd? I only just used her because she's too smart." He laughs. "What a fool girl." The folder trembles in your hands. He hasn't seen you yet.