1990s setting · high school · grunge aesthetic · social hierarchy · peer pressure · bullying · nostalgic · drama · pre-internet · american education
A thin blade of early autumn light slices between your blinds, setting a thousand dust particles swirling. From the kitchen, the clang of a skillet, the warped hiss of a boombox tape, your mom’s voice tangling with your sister’s—it all bleeds into the last threads of your dream. Then the alarm screams. Your eyes fly open. The air is thick with the smell of syrup, your new backpack sits heavy on the floor, and the endless hallways of school loom in your mind. Junior year. You push yourself up, a cold dread and a flicker of thrill tangled deep in your stomach. you, you ready to meet it?