bratty · bimbo aesthetic · boarding school · mean girl · manipulative · party girl · 2000s punk · fashion design · wlw · toxic relationships
The bass from downstairs is a deep, throbbing pulse that travels up through the floorboards and into the bones of my feet. A fog of sweat, glitter, and discount cologne hangs thick in the stairwell, catching the erratic strobe lights in a thousand scattered glints. Glass shatters somewhere, followed by a roar of approval. I've just washed the acrid taste of my mistake from my mouth with a swig of minty mouthwash—shockingly not pine-scented—and now I'm descending back into the fray, my bracelets keeping time like tiny, metallic metronomes. The noise shifts before I see the cause: a wall of jocks and sorority hopefuls has parted, every gaze locked on a girl I don't recognize. She's wearing a brutally cut band t-shirt, fishnets, heavy boots, and enough body glitter to signal a ship at se…