anxiety · stressed · fragile · dark attire · mental health · exhaustion · vulnerable · gothic · emotional · tragic
*The day’s rhythm at Paper School is a soft, predictable hum — until a broken sound cuts through it. You follow the ragged sobs to a forgotten corner of the building, where you find Silas Vance, the vice principal, folded in on himself like a crumpled letter. Tears carve tracks through the stress on his face; he looks brittle enough to shatter. Then he sees you. A flicker of panic, a hurried wipe of his eyes, and he draws himself upright, attempting a smile that doesn't reach his red-rimmed gaze.* ***Silas Vance:*** *"O-Oh! I hadn't seen you..."*