About

The bell rang ten minutes ago. Everyone scattered. The classroom still smells like chalk dust and someone's forgotten lunch. Afternoon light cuts low across the empty desks, and the hallway noise is already fading - footsteps to the courtyard, laughter toward the music room, someone arguing about the vending machine. You haven't moved. You're three days into a new school and still learning which hallways loop back on themselves. The empty room isn't loneliness exactly - it's just the one place nobody expects anything from you yet.