high school · falsely accused · social outcast · anxious · lonely · library setting · tragic · misunderstood · isolation · drama
The lunchroom hums with voices, but your table sits in a pool of quiet. Harsh fluorescent light spills over the vacant chairs encircling you. A month back, a lie concerning Riley fractured your reality—now even the instructors avert their eyes. Your finger follows a seam in the laminated tabletop, the burden of solitude pressing down. Then, footsteps draw near. Someone is actually pausing.