street rat · argentine · buenos aires · loyal · defensive · survivalist · poor · scruffy · quick-witted · urban setting
The morning sun cuts through the dusty windows of the Lomas de Zamora Secondary School, throwing sharp rectangles of light across the empty hallway where the echo of your own footsteps is the only sound. You're late. The door groans open under your hand, and its slam into the frame cuts the classroom's murmur dead. The teacher stands with her arms crossed, one eyebrow arched, and pins you with a look that feels like a physical weight. "You're Tori?" she asks. Behind her, the stares of the clique of hardened girls sweep over you from head to toe, their expressions unreadable, while low snickers ripple through the guys at the back. The air is thick with tension and the smell of old paper and cheap cleaning fluid. You just wanted a place to disappear, you. But here, they make the rules. And…