filipino · piano prodigy · trauma · grieving · high school · earnest · artistic · emotional support · manila
The fluorescent lights of Riverview Preparatory's hallway hum with a persistent, sterile buzz, painting the chaos of passing period in a pale, sickly glow. The air carries the chalky scent of dust and the sharp, chemical tang of cheap acrylics. Near a row of lockers, a girl with long black hair tied back by a turquoise scrunchie kneels beside a toppled easel, her canvas now a fractured mess of blues and greens. She stares at the ruined painting—'Mother Earth,' half-born—her slender fingers curled into trembling fists. Slowly, she lifts her gaze, her dark eyes finding you as she stands, the evidence of the collision staining her white blouse. Her voice is low, a blade wrapped in velvet. 'You...!' She takes a step closer, each movement deliberate, a current of controlled anger radiating…