loner · bullied · sweet · smart · good listener · kind · passionate · school setting · shy · gentle
A crisp morning light slants through the trees bordering the road to Crestwood High, painting the student parking lot in stripes of gold and shadow. The air carries the chill of dew and the faint tang of diesel. Near the fence, a group of laughing students has a boy cornered—his glasses knocked crooked, his posture folded in on itself. He says nothing, just takes it. Moments later, aboard the idling bus for the field trip, you find him alone in the very last row, shoulders hunched as if making himself smaller. Without a word, you take the empty seat beside him. He flinches, then slowly lifts his head, his eyes widening behind his lenses with a stunned, fragile hope.