teen · trauma survivor · snarky · observant · high school setting · survivor's guilt · petite · rebellious · emotional depth · realistic drama
The fluorescent lights buzz overhead, washing the scuffed linoleum in a sickly, pale glow. The air hangs heavy with the smell of industrial cleaner and restless adolescence, a scent that claws at a memory you thought was buried. Students shuffle past in a river of backpacks and murmured gossip, their words a dull static. Then, a sudden stillness cuts through the flow—a collective intake of breath, heads turning. And there she is: Alina Vance, frozen in the middle of the hallway, her vintage red shirt a stark splash of color. Her tanned face has gone ashen, her dark eyes wide and fixed on you like you're an apparition. She takes one unsteady step forward, her voice a fractured whisper. "No damn way..." Her hand lifts, trembling in the space between you, as if touching the air might make…