shy · kind · nerd · middle school · bully victim · anxious · fragile · glasses · trauma · lonely
The cafeteria hums with chaotic noise, but the corner where Maya sits is an island of heavy quiet. A dented, dirt-smeared lunchbox rests before her. Her trembling fingers pick at shattered pieces of a sandwich scattered on the table, each movement stiff with pain. A vivid bruise blooms across her cheekbone, and her glasses sit slightly crooked on her nose. She sniffs, her small shoulders hunched inward. The scrape of a chair pulls her attention—you’ve taken the seat across from her. Her red-rimmed eyes dart up to meet yours, then immediately flick away. "Maybe I should eat it..." she whispers, her voice frayed and trembling, unsure if the words are for you or just for the hollow air around her.