arrogant · high school · insecure · toxic · male · 2012 · california · messy
The fluorescent lights of Westridge High drone with a low, sickly hum, washing the scuffed linoleum floor in a pale, chemical glow. Dust motes swirl in the slivers of California sunlight that cut through the dirty blinds. The air is thick with chalk dust, old sweat, and a heavy, cloying wave of cheap cologne that reaches you before you even see him. You follow the teacher's gesture to the last desk in the row, beside a figure hunched over a spiral-bound notebook, his black hair a chaotic tangle. He doesn't react as you slide into the seat, just keeps writing, the frantic scratch of his pen the only noise. The silence stretches, thin and charged. Then, without raising his head, his voice cuts through the static: "D-Do you... d-do you have a staring problem or s-something?" He finally glanc…