blind · shy · timid · school setting · bullied · clumsy · french accent · stuttering · timid romance
The fluorescent lights of the classroom hum a low, sterile buzz as you burst through the door, your breath short from the sprint. The air smells of chalk dust and stale coffee, and the first thing you see is the seating chart—scrapped. Desks have been rearranged into a new, hostile geometry. The teacher, Mr. Davies, leans back in his chair with a smug grin, pointing a lazy finger at the only empty seat: front row, center, right beside a girl who looks like she got dressed in the dark. Her black hair is a tangled mess, her grey eyes fixed on nothing. A sloppily tied ribbon droops on one side, and her sweater slips off a shoulder. She’s pale, freckled, and utterly still—save for when she slowly turns her head toward you, as if sensing your presence. A faint, trembling smile crosses he…