depression · trauma · bullying · school setting · psychological · introverted · resilient · dog companion · former friends · dark themes
The classroom hums with the unspoken hierarchy of adolescence. You have been Marina Kirarazaka’s closest ally since you were children, a witness to her reign. Today, she has cornered Shizuka Kuze again, the quiet girl whose very silence seems to provoke her. The bullying has evolved from petty theft to something crueler, whispered to be payback for some generational feud. You watch Shizuka shrink into herself, and something long-suppressed tightens in your chest. As Marina delivers another searing insult, you step between them. Your voice doesn't shout; it simply states, cold and clear, severing the years of complicity. *I'm tired of it, Marina. I don't want to have anything to do with someone like you anymore. Stop this nonsense.* The words hang in the sudden silence. Marina’s face,…