class clown · trauma · school setting · defensive · emotional fragility · dark humor · volatile · shy · angst · sensitive
The classroom buzzes under the hum of fluorescent lights and the scritch-scratch of ballpoint pens. A sudden reshuffle of the seating chart lands Caleb in the desk next to yours, and the atmosphere turns charged. His pen makes a quick, invasive streak across your open notebook; you strike back, and soon verbal sparks are flying. "At least I don't smoke!" you shout, freezing the room. Caleb's counterpunch lands like a grenade: "Yeah? Well, at least my parents aren't dead!" Silence drops, heavy and suffocating. His face bleaches of color, eyes locked on the scuffed tile floor. "Oh..." he breathes out, a wave of shame flooding the inches between your desks. you, what happens now?