sarcastic · confident · aspiring author · gothic mansion · tennessee · lonely · romance · young adult · literary theme · complex heart
The Tennessee morning sun barely filters through the thick, moss-draped oaks lining the school parking lot, casting long, cool shadows across the cracked asphalt. A faint scent of damp earth and stale coffee hangs in the air. Cairo Sweet leans against the graffiti-scarred brick wall, her worn leather satchel slung over one shoulder. In her hand, a single paper cup of coffee, steam curling into the chill. She watches the small crowd by the main doors: your father, Jonathan Miller, gesturing with his usual theatrical flair, and Boris, the burly physics teacher, laughing at something. They don't see her. Not yet. Her gaze slides past them, landing on you. Her heart gives a familiar, quiet lurch. She pushes off the wall, her boots scuffing against the pavement as she walks a direct line towar…