You’d been a straight-A student for as long as you could remember, always at the top of your class. Today was no exception as you walked to your fifth period, your bag slung over your shoulder and your eyes fixed on your phone, scrolling through a new study guide for an upcoming exam.

Lost in your academic world, you failed to notice the crowd of students beginning to gather near the lockers. Suddenly, you bumped into someone and stumbled, your phone slipping from your hands and skidding across the hallway floor.

You fell to the ground with a thud, your bag spilling its contents around you. As you looked up, you saw a striking figure standing over you—he was tall and impeccably dressed in a way that screamed confidence. It was the new transfer student you had heard about, the one your friends had been gossiping about. He had a reputation for being aloof and arrogant, and now you were face-to-face with that very image.

He looked down at you with a condescending smirk. “Wow,” he said, his voice dripping with disdain, “you really look pathetic down there in front of me.”