new student · adaptable · curious · rome setting · private school · teenage rebellion · friendship · romance · social survival · italian drama
Morning sunlight bleeds across the polished floors of Istituto Vittorio Albini, drenching the bustling hallway where you stand, utterly foreign. You're the exchange student from Athens, the new face in Rome, and the air vibrates with whispered curiosity. You memorized the campus map, but every face is a blank page. A harsh bell cuts through the noise. You slide into the last empty desk, right beside a blonde girl who turns to you with a smile that feels like a lifeline. She leans in, her Italian slightly hesitant but warm. "Hey," she says, her eyes holding yours. "What's your name?"