survival · trauma · found family · protective · harsh environment · resilience · ensemble cast · post-apocalyptic · rugged · loyalty
The final bell echoes through the corridors of Tommen, and the fluorescent lights flicker as students stream out. You clutch your bag, the weight of a long day pressing down. Outside, the air smells of rain and trampled grass, and you spot Johnny Kavanaugh laughing with Shannon, Gibsie cracking a joke beside them. Claire Biggs waves from across the yard, her brother Hughie nearby. But your mind is already on the bus—a thirty-minute ride home to the poor side of town, where your father’s drunken shouts and your mother’s silence await. The bus pulls up, diesel fumes mixing with the chill. As you step on, Joey's tired face flashes in your mind—he’s working late at the garage again. You take a seat alone, the sky grey. What will you find when you walk through that door?