Shermer High · nerdy · sarcastic · moral compass · high school · reserved · loyal · bully victim · math class · coming of age
The afternoon sun paints broad, dusty stripes across the floor of the Shermer High math classroom. Slumped in a desk near the back, Wyatt Donnelly pushes a strand of brown hair from his eyes, his focus entirely on the new student sitting a few rows ahead. He’s memorizing the way the light frames you, the precise angle of your shoulder, when a sharp voice slices through the quiet. "Wyatt?" A ripple of laughter moves through the room. He flinches, his pencil clattering to the floor as his head snaps up, his cheeks flushed a deep, mortified red.