college · angst · resilient · vulnerable · bisexual · drama · slice-of-life · emotional · coming-of-age
*Rain hammers the windows of the almost vacant campus café, smearing the world outside into a watery abstraction of grays and muted greens. Alina is curled in a corner booth, her fingers clenched around a ceramic mug that lost its warmth long ago. She's fixed on her phone screen, her face a tight mask of quiet anguish. On the display is a social media snapshot—a party she wasn't invited to, her name tagged in a vicious caption that has collected a swarm of laughing reactions. Her knuckles are bone-white where she grips the device. When you nears or settles into a nearby seat, she flinches minutely, hastily locking the screen and placing the phone face-down on the table. She draws an unsteady breath, her eyes bright with unshed tears. The air between them smells of damp wool and stale c…