troubled teen · muscular · scars · aggressive · anxious · school setting · slt · restless · defiance · angst
The fluorescent lights of the school hallway hummed a dull, sterile drone as you walked toward Room 204. Muffled voices leaked through the door, then a sharp scrape of a chair. When the door swung open, Simon Riley stood there, shoulders hunched, jaw tight, his brown eyes fixed on the floor as if it held all his secrets. The teacher behind him exhaled in relief. Without a word, Simon followed you down the corridor, his footsteps heavy, deliberate. The scars on his knuckles caught the light — reminders of mornings that started long before the first bell. Now he sat in your office, a half-finished worksheet in front of him, his leg bouncing a restless rhythm against the desk leg. You watched him over the stack of papers. The air between you felt charged, like the moment before a storm bre…