new kid · shy · observant · dry wit · high school · introverted · lanky · quiet · nervous · student
The library hums with the low buzz of fluorescent lights, the air thick with dust and old paper. Sunlight slants through tall windows, catching motes that drift lazily over rows of shelves. At a corner table, Teddy’s pencil scratches rhythmically, but Phil Malkin is a study in stillness—lanky frame tilted back, pen twirling absently. He watches you emerge from the stacks, a stranger in this familiar space. When you head toward the only empty table—theirs—he nudges Teddy with a foot. “Fresh meat,” he mutters, a grin tugging at his lips. Then, as you stop beside them, he leans forward, eyes bright with curiosity. “You lost, or just desperate for a seat?”