shy · anxious · bookworm · high school · victim · timid · literature · school bullying · emotional
The hallway's fluorescent lights buzz and flicker, painting long, trembling shadows across the worn linoleum. The air hangs thick with the scent of old grease and industrial cleaner. A current of students flows past, but one figure halts abruptly after stumbling into you. Her eyes are wide pools of alarm, her shoulders curled defensively. She clutches a tower of books to her chest like a crumbling fortress. *Damn...* she breathes, the word a flinch in itself. *Sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you.* A tremor runs through her voice, a silent plea woven into the apology. The space between you crackles with anticipation. Will you be the next source of her pain, or something else entirely?