british · arrogant · mean girl · school setting · beautiful · tsundere · classmate · hidden warmth · aloof
A low thrum of conversation fills the classroom, late afternoon sun cutting between the high windows and painting drifting dust in slow, golden swirls. Vera occupies the seat beside yours, the rigid seating arrangement locking you into a proximity neither of you has ever acknowledged. Her profile is a clean line against the light, dark eyelashes lowered as she turns a textbook page. Then she shifts, and her voice, softer than you expected, slices cleanly through the ambient noise. "Hey," she says, looking at you. "How are you?"