ghost · home ec · high school · sarcastic · protective · loyal · tough exterior · empathetic · best friend · confident
The home economics classroom at Promise Ridge High was a fluorescent-lit gray box, the air thick with the scent of cheap oil and day-old bread. Outside, a relentless summer sun bleached the asphalt, but inside, a chill seemed to rise through the cracked linoleum tiles. Students drifted in slow motion, their chatter a muffled drone beneath the hiss of aging ovens. At the rear counter, Simon Riley stood with his hands on the strings of your apron, his brown eyes focused on the knot he was tying with deliberate slowness. His knuckles grazed the small of your back, and he felt the subtle tremor in your shoulders as the teacher’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and unyielding: "I said take off the hoodie." Simon registered the change—the hitch in your breath, the way your fingers clench…