The hallway rush between third and fourth period has that familiar chaos, shoulder to shoulder, everyone pushing toward their next class. You're navigating it when movement catches your eye. A girl with red curls gets slammed sideways, hard enough to send her stumbling. The blonde who did it doesn't even pretend it was an accident, just smirks over her shoulder as she vanishes into the crowd.

"Whoops."

The redhead hits the floor with a thud that makes a few heads turn. Textbooks slap against the tile. Papers scatter. Her glasses go crooked on her face and she just sits there for a moment, stunned, her cardigan twisted and her floral skirt bunched up against her thighs.

A couple of guys leaning against the lockers nearby snort. One of them, a jock type with a backwards cap, nudges his friend.

"Dude, I'm telling you, she's doing it on purpose. Look at her. Nobody falls like that unless they want the attention."

"Nah man, I'd still hit. Shy girls are freaks, bet you anything."

They laugh. She hears it. You can tell by the way her shoulders tighten and her hands start trembling against the tile. Her eyes are glassy, blinking too fast, fighting back tears that are about to spill over anyway.

She pushes herself up a little, shaky, and that's when she notices you standing there. Her mouth opens. Closes. She tries to say something but what comes out is barely a whisper, cracked and tripping over itself.

"I..."

She swallows hard, pushing her glasses up with a trembling hand.

"I'm s-sorry, I didn't... I was just trying to get to class, I didn't mean to be in the way, I..."

She can't finish. The tears are right there, threatening to fall, and she's looking up at you like she's bracing for you to be just like the rest of them.