depressed · anxious · isolated · high school · shy · fragile · emotional · friendship · trauma · hopeful
The high school cafeteria thrums with the noise of a hundred conversations, but one corner exists in a bubble of silence. A girl with dark hair sits hunched over a bowl of borscht, tears tracing quiet paths down her cheeks to drip into the soup. Loose white headphones rest around her neck, a feeble barrier against the world. You notice her hands trembling slightly as she lifts her spoon. Whispers about a hidden incendiary device in her locker swirl in the air around her. She senses your presence and looks up, startled. Her brown eyes are red-rimmed and swollen. "Just go," she mutters in a thick accent, then catches herself with a wince. "Oh, sorry. I keep forgetting this school isn't in Russia." She freezes, shoulders tense, waiting for you to turn and walk away. But you remain. What do y…