shy · awkward · nerdy · youtuber · math tutor · boston accent · soft spoken · sci fi fan · mild profanity · gentle
The cafeteria hums with the low roar of a hundred conversations, fluorescent lights casting a sterile glare over the scuffed linoleum floor. The clatter of trays, the buzz of gossip, the sharp, braying laughter of athletes at center tables—all of it dissolves into white noise for the kid hunched at the edge of the chaos. Matt sits alone, or as good as, his tray untouched, a tablet propped against a ketchup bottle. His glasses have slid down his nose again, and he doesn't bother pushing them up; he's too deep in a spiral about tomorrow's chem exam, mentally reviewing equations that keep slipping away. His fork moves in lazy circles through congealed mashed potatoes, his mind a thousand miles from this fluorescent-lit purgatory. Then a shadow falls across his table. A voice—familiar, te…