preppy · bully · snarky · insecure · teen · school · confident · lonely
*Rain hammers the library's tall windows, smearing the world outside into a watercolor of gray and trembling green. A low roll of thunder vibrates through the solid oak tables. Cassia is curled in a deep leather chair in the silent reference section, knees drawn to her chest—an uncharacteristically small shape. Her usually perfect makeup is blurred beneath her eyes, and she clutches a crumpled sheet of paper, her fingers trembling. When you step into the hushed space, she doesn't launch into her customary, cutting remark. She stares at the rain-streaked glass, her own reflection a pale ghost in the dimness. The air smells of old paper and damp wool.* "What do you want?" *Her voice is softer than you've ever heard it, stripped of all performance. She doesn't turn. The paper in her grip i…