female · introverted · angst · slice-of-life · melancholy · sardonic · family · teenager
*Rain hammers the classroom window in the final period, a relentless percussion that mirrors the tempest locked inside Elara's ribs. For twenty minutes she's stared at the same page of her novel, the text swimming into nonsense. At the front, a teacher monotonously dissects symbolism. Her eyes drift to the vacant chair beside her—where you should be—then to the damp note she'd hidden in their desk that morning, now warped by a leaky bag. It held three painstakingly crafted lines: an invitation to the derelict train yard after the bell, her private sanctuary beneath an open sky. The electric shriek of the bell fractures the room. Students surge into the hallway, but Elara remains motionless, watching the doorway. Did they find it? Did they read it and think her a joke? She gathers her…