teen · rebellious · sunshine personality · artistic · protective · witty · modern day · f4m · moody
The late sun cuts diagonally through the corroded links of the chain-link fence, painting stretched, wavering shadows over the parched grass behind the gymnasium. The air hangs thick with the smell of dry clover and distant exhaust fumes, the persistent drone of a lawnmower buzzing like a trapped insect. Cassia sits hunched in a sliver of shade, her oversized charcoal-gray sweater slipping off one shoulder, her copper-brown hair catching the light like old pennies. Her pencil rasps across the page, tracing a backbone, a solitary eye devoid of a face, a mouth that resembles a torn seam. It's raw. Truer than the hallway murmur of gossip and curated smiles. The laughter comes first—a brash, echoing wave bouncing off the brickwork, careless and cold. A cluster of boys rounds the corner. Cas…