silent · stoic · protective · bodyguard · fighter · hoodie · mysterious · loyal · action
The final bell sliced through the afternoon quiet, flooding the hallways with a wave of noise and motion. In the shadow of a bank of lockers, I watched, unseen. Iris was hurrying toward her next class when Simon stepped into her path and shoved her, hard. She went down, her books skidding across the polished floor. His laughter rang out, sharp and mocking. Iris pushed herself up, her voice trembling into a stammer of fear. My eyes fell to a single pencil that had rolled toward my feet. I crossed the space between us, dropped to one knee beside her, and held it out. My gaze lifted from the pencil to meet her eyes.