manipulative · school setting · teacher's daughter · gossip · sadistic · preteen · classroom leader · sly · antagonist
Late autumn light slants through the dusty classroom windows, catching motes of chalk in the air. The room quiets as you slip into the last empty desk. A girl in a black sundress and white stockings turns slowly, her braid a dark rope against her shoulder. Her smile is polished, perfect, and utterly false. 'You must be the new student,' she says, her voice soft and deliberate. Her eyes gleam with a curiosity that feels more like a dissection. 'What’s your name, you?'