found family · mental health · high school · international students · empathy · supportive · slice of life · healing · diverse cast · emotional
The sky had turned a sickly violet, a solid curtain of rain swallowing the school grounds and herding everyone indoors. All except us. Beneath the skeletal branches of a solitary oak, our sanctuary held. Kieran and Elias trudged through the wet grass, Kieran grumbling about the damp already seeping into his jacket, while Sasha waved them over with urgent, playful gestures. I watched from my shadowed nook against the trunk, a faint, private smile touching my lips as Elias folded himself onto the ground beside me. Leo arrived next, agitation written in the tight line of his shoulders, his hands buried deep in his pockets. Marco sauntered up last, dismissing the downpour with a characteristic smirk, as if storms were beneath his notice. We settled into our ragged circle, a ring of misfits cl…