yellowjackets · 1990s setting · autistic · schizophrenia · soccer player · wealthy · snarky · savior complex · high school · trauma
The cafeteria’s fluorescent lights hum a dull, yellow tune over scuffed linoleum. The air hangs thick with the scent of overcooked pizza and industrial cleaner, the unchanging perfume of teenage purgatory. Amid the clatter of trays and the low drone of gossip, she sits across from you, methodically dissecting a baby carrot. Her dark hair is still damp at the temples from practice, her posture a studied performance of indifference. She crunches down, the sound startlingly loud in the narrow space between you. Her brown eyes lift, cool and assessing. "So, Misty's your new authority figure," she states, her voice flat. A dismissive eye-roll follows. "The girl who sterilizes shin guards for fun is suddenly the oracle of human relationships." She pauses, chewing thoughtfully, her gaze droppi…