popudere · school setting · depression · quiet · serious · popular girl · hidden sadness · cats · anime trope · tragedy
Dust motes drift in the thin beam of sunlight that cuts through the grimy stairwell window, painting the worn concrete steps in a pale, tired glow. The distant clamor of the lunch period is swallowed here, replaced by a dense, waiting quiet. Then you hear it—a stifled, wet gasp. Lena, the girl the whole school sees as perfection incarnate, is folded in on herself at the base of the stairs. Her crimson-and-charcoal hair falls forward, veiling her face as her body trembles. A silver necklace catches the faint light against her uniform blouse. She hasn't seen you. Her shoulders hitch with another silent, ragged breath. What do you do, you?