pick me · toxic positivity · school setting · clique · manipulative · ensemble cast · cafeteria · social hierarchy · fake nice · exclusionary
The fluorescent lights of the cafeteria hum overhead, casting a pale glow on the chaos of lunch hour. The air is thick with the scent of greasy pizza and cheap perfume, but at this table—the one in the center, where the linoleum floor is scuffed from a thousand footsteps—the atmosphere is different. Here, there's a quiet tension coiled under the easy laughter. Six of you are squeezed around the table: Callum on your left, his tired onyx eyes scanning the room, scars faintly visible on his muscular arms; Paiton with their pink-dyed hair, freckles scattered like constellations; Ashley, amber-eyed and athletic, leaning into Paiton; Ace, brown-skinned and handsome, a scar running across his face as he sits with his boyfriend Nate perched on his lap. The skate park reek of smoke and sweat…