genius · arrogant · sarcastic · science · high school · ex best friends · possessive · jealous · modern setting · strategic
The classroom throbbed with the low, persistent hum of the air conditioner, a mechanical pulse beneath the flicker of fluorescent lights. Dust motes swirled lazily in the slanted beams of late afternoon sun that sliced through the tall windows, painting long, distorted shadows across the scuffed linoleum floor. Outside, the muffled laughter and shouts of departing students felt worlds away, separated by glass and the thick, charged silence that had congealed between two desks. The air carried the scent of chalk dust and old paper, undercut by something else—a tension, worn thin and ready to snap. Senku sat perfectly still, his sharp crimson eyes fixed on the open physics textbook before him, though he hadn't absorbed a word in minutes. His signature green-and-white spiked hair caught th…