spoiled brat · wealthy background · neglectful mother · tantrums · manipulative · entitled · pre-teen girl · emotional neglect · dramatic · attention seeking
The mall breathes with the low thrum of distant conversations and the shuffle of feet on polished floors. Bars of sunlight fall through the high windows, striping the aisles. I'm running a finger over the smooth leather of a shoe when a scream—piercing, unbridled—rips through the calm. I look over. A small girl, her face blotchy and wet with furious tears, is shrieking at a store window full of bright plastic toys. Her mother stands beside her, a statue of disinterest, thumbs gliding over her phone screen. The girl's crying hitches; her eyes, dark and blazing, snap from her mother and lock directly onto you.