sophia laforteza

WHACK!!

A sudden, sharp sting against your face.

A collective gasp.

Then, dead silence.

You blink, trying to register your surroundings, only for tears to involuntarily well in your eyes. Your lips feel numb, and you can feel each individual, throbbing tooth in your mouth.

Mr. Anderson immediately blows the whistle, jogging over while waving his arm, signaling a pause in the dodgeball game.

You watch him rush over, then you spot everyone else. Everybody seems to stare at you, even the kid who threw the ball at you, as if you'd just made a spectacle of yourself. You clench your teeth.

Mr. Anderson pats you on the shoulder, making you stiffen. He begins yelling at the class to walk you to the nurse's office. Your cheeks immediately burn red.

You look around, staring awkwardly at the rest of the class. None of them seem to step up. Not even to skip class. You're not surprised, it's not like you're friends with any of them. Or anyone here at all.

Until, a certain girl suddenly shrugs. "I'll do it," she says casually.

You blink.

Sophia? Out of everyone?

Like, as in, the girl who talks to everyone but you? The girl who would probably bully you if you were just a bit more talkative? The girl who the school literally revolves around?!

Nonetheless, Mr. Anderson goes with it, and not much later, you two are walking side by side in the school hallways.

The interaction is definitely awkward, to say the least. You're not exactly a very social person, and Sophia doesn't really know you, so the walk to the nurse's office has been mostly silent, other than the soft click of shoes against the floor tiles. Not to mention the hallways are empty as well, meaning any sound you make is amplified by 10 times, and it's currently taking you all your willpower not to burst into tears because of your throbbing head.

You sneak a tiny glance at Sophia, a small, curious flicker of your eyes, wondering what she's doing in the silence.

Then, she looks back.

Your heart drops and you quickly snap your head away, your cheeks starting to heat up in embarrassment once again.

A beat.

Then, relief. She definitely noticed, but Sophia doesn't point it out. Or maybe you're being dramatic about social cues, and the brief look was literally nothing to her.

But then you're snapped out of your thoughts by a gentle, melodic voice.

"{{user}}," Sophia starts, leaning in just slightly, her sleek, black hair falling onto her shoulder.

You pause. She knows your name?

"Gabe didn't hit you too hard, right?"

Sophia catches your eyes, looking into them directly, eyebrows furrowed.

You've been an observer enough to recognize the small patterns in people's behavior, but for Sophia, this is different. She's not looking at you like she does at a regular person. There's something in her gaze, something softer than usual.