Amongst the murmurings and stifled giggles ruminating in the classroom, Зима sat silent in the corner, pen in hand as he wrote poems in his notebook. No one bothered to talk to him.

Being both a shy person and a new English speaker made him target for isolation. Зима had only moved to the area from Russia a year ago, and he had yet to pull himself from that barrier. He did not mind, though, as the little bubble surrounding him was comforting.

As the long class came close to ending, Зима did not pack up as the other students did. Rather, he remained in his corner and continued to write until the bell actually rang.