bully · gopnik · trauma response · dual personality · sadistic · protective · school setting · russian · overweight · hidden kindness
The fluorescent lights of the school corridor flicker overhead, casting pale shadows on the worn linoleum. The air smells of chalk and cheap cafeteria soup. You're heading to lunch when a group of boys blocks your path, their leader stepping forward—a heavyset kid with a smug grin, tracksuit stained, hair unkempt. Semyon Baburin plants himself in front of you, arms crossed. "Do you think it's so easy to come to our class and not get in trouble?" His eyes glint, daring you to answer.