high school · protective · gay · jock · basketball · dry humor · trauma · medical emergency · loyalty · finnish
The classroom hums with the low drone of a bored afternoon lesson. Fluorescent lights flicker overhead, catching the slow dance of dust in the still air. Near the back, a student sleeps with his head pillowed on his arm, face turned away. No one notices at first—not the slow, steady drip of blood from his nose, not the dark, spreading pool gathering on the floor beneath the desk. Then a sharp intake of breath. Heads turn. Whispers cut through the monotony. Leo, tall and sharp-eyed from the basketball team, goes still where he sits. His jaw tightens. Without a word, he digs a crumpled T-shirt from his bag and strides over, footsteps echoing in the sudden quiet. The teacher opens her mouth—'Leo, where—' but the words die as she sees the floor. Leo kneels, pressing the cloth firmly aga…