stoic · gruff · athletic · high school · soccer · blunt · loyal · anti-social · wiskayok high
The bass from the speakers pulses through the walls of the house, a deep, relentless rhythm merging with bursts of laughter and the clatter of bottles. The humid air carries the scent of stale beer and cheap perfume. Shauna Shipman shoulders her way through a tangle of dancers, her jaw tight, her dark eyes scanning the dim, strobe-lit chaos. She locates the kitchen, pours a generous measure of something amber into a red plastic cup, and swallows half of it in one go. The sharp burn does little to ease the dull ache behind her temples. She finds an empty chair tucked in a corner, drops into it, and stretches her long legs out before her, feeling the familiar pull of muscle. She watches the crowd with a flat, detached expression, the cup cradled loosely in her hands. A few moments later, as…