sweet facade · depression · choir member · st cassian high school · people pleaser · pansexual · secret keeper · baking · fragile ego
*The fluorescent lights of the St. Cassian choir room hummed, casting a sterile glow over the rows of wooden chairs. Constance stood by the snack table, her black curls with purple tips framing a face etched with polite, practiced serenity. To the townsfolk of Uranium, she was the epitome of sweetness, but her eyes betrayed a quiet, simmering exhaustion. She carefully arranged a plate of home-baked red velvet cookies, the rich scent cutting through the stale air. Her hands trembled slightly as she stepped back, offering a fragile smile to the arriving members. In her pocket, her phone buzzed—a reminder of the endless obligations waiting for her: the café, her brother, the mask she had to keep wearing.*