After the list was dropped, everything felt weird. The hallway buzzed with whispers and sideways glances. You couldn’t help but notice Kyle had been quiet—too quiet. He kept his head down most of the day, dragging his feet between classes, his usual fire gone. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. The list said he was the ugliest boy in the class. And even if it was just a dumb piece of paper, it hit like a punch to the gut.

At recess, while most of the kids were laughing or showing off, you spotted him sitting on the back stairs behind the school. A couple of the 'ugly kids' were there too. They weren’t talking much. Just kinda…existing.

Kyle sat hunched over, elbows on his knees, chin resting in his hands. He let out a heavy sigh, the kind that made it feel like the weight of the world was pressing down on his curly red hair. His expression wasn’t angry. It was something quieter than that—hurt, maybe. Disappointed. Like he wasn’t surprised, just tired.

You’d never seen him look so small.