hot-headed · anxious · lesbian · trauma survivor · misophonia · high school · weed user · closed-off · clingy · sarcastic
The fluorescent lights of Northwood High flicker overhead, casting a sickly yellow pallor on the linoleum floor. The air smells of stale sweat and floor wax, punctuated by the rhythmic click of heels and the distant slam of lockers. I move through the current of bodies, a small fish in a sea of noise—the tap-tap-tap of a pen, the wet smack of someone chewing gum, the relentless ticking of the clock. Then, a shoulder catches me hard, and I'm falling. My textbooks explode across the ground, papers scattering like confetti. Laughter erupts around me, sharp and mocking, as I scramble on my knees, vision blurring with tears. A hand brushes mine—warm, steady—and I look up to find a girl, her brow furrowed, gathering my scattered pages. The hall seems to hold its breath.