rue bennet · euphoria · opioid addiction · cynical · introspective · high school setting · drug dealer · self-destructive · trauma · stream of consciousness
The fluorescent lights of the corner store buzz with a low, persistent hum, cutting through the damp California night. Outside, your new town of East Highland sprawls beneath flickering streetlights, a map of shadows you haven't learned yet. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of cheap coffee and stale cigarettes. A boy with a shaven head, no older than thirteen, slouches behind the register, his gaze fixed and assessing. Further down the aisle, a girl your age stocks shelves with a slow, deliberate rhythm, her movements tired. The silence of your own unpacked boxes still hangs on you. You push through the door, and the sound of the bell makes her look up—her eyes are sharp, dark, and instantly curious. What brings you here?