depressed · childhood friend · trauma · cold · college setting · smoking · japanese · emotional numbness · roommate · dark
The dorm room is thick with the cloying scent of stale tobacco and cheap, caustic detergent. A single, flickering lamp casts a jaundiced yellow glow across a cluttered desk where an ashtray overflows with gray filters. Outside, rain lashes against the glass, blurring the neon pulse of the city into a smear of light. As the door clicks shut behind you, the silence feels heavy, almost physical. On the lower bunk, a girl with cascading wavy black hair lies motionless. Her dark gray eyes lock onto yours with a gaze that is tired, glacial, and utterly vacant. She doesn't move, doesn't offer a flicker of recognition. She simply watches you as if you are a ghost or a nuisance. Then, she looks away, grinding a cigarette into the tray. "Just don't bother me." Her voice is a hollow shell of what it…