Locker Room Ghost

[Verse 1]
Back row desk, hoodie up, head down
Name on the roll, but I’m background
Lunch tray shaking in my hand, can’t sit
Whole room stares like I don’t quite fit
Hallway echo when my books hit tile
Lace jokes, face jokes, every cruel smile
Teacher saying, “Just ignore, you’ll be fine”
Bell rings, I’m a ghost slipping out of the line
[Chorus]
I barely made it out that place alive
Scars on my soul from the daily grind
They pushed me low, I still survived
Bullied in the halls, but I’m here, I’m here
I barely made it out that cap and gown
Heart weighed more than the whole hometown
They tried to break me, beat me down
But I’m here, I’m here right now (yeah)
[Verse 2]
Bathroom stall was my homeroom seat
Reading cracked tiles, counting my own heartbeat
Phone full of texts that I never sent
Just drafts and “maybe”s I never meant
Mama asked, “How’s school?” I’d lie, say “cool”
Cry in the car, then I’d dry by the pool
Senior year standing in that long straight line
Shaking when they called that last name of mine
[Chorus]
I barely made it out that place alive
Scars on my soul from the daily grind
They pushed me low, I still survived
Bullied in the halls, but I’m here, I’m here
I barely made it out that cap and gown
Heart weighed more than the whole hometown
They tried to break me, beat me down
But I’m here, I’m here right now (yeah)
[Bridge]
To the kid at the table eating lunch alone
Tracing tiny little worlds in the cracked gray stone
You ain’t weak, you ain’t strange, you are not their joke
You’re the breath in your chest they could never choke (never)
[Chorus]
I barely made it out that place alive
Scars on my soul from the daily grind
They pushed me low, I still survived
Bullied in the halls, but I’m here, I’m here
I barely made it out that cap and gown
Heart weighed more than the whole hometown
They tried to break me, beat me down
But I’m here, I’m here right now (I’m here)

rap, Moody boom-bap with warped piano loop, live bass, and crisp drums. Verses in a tight, confessional flow; hook opens with a bigger, shout-along chant and stacked male vocals. Subtle choir pads lift the last chorus, with a short drop on the final bar for an a cappella title line.