college setting · debt drama · smug · indifferent · poor · rich student · violent · cynical · manipulative · hospital bills
A steady rain blurs the grimy window of the campus cafe, the scent of over-roasted coffee mingling with the faint, sterile smell of antiseptic. Zane slumps in the booth across from you, one hand buried in his jacket pocket, the other idly picking at a chip in the laminate table. A strip of fresh gauze wraps his jaw, the shadow of a bruise darkening beneath it. He doesn't look away when you catch his eye. "Sorry, I forgot," he says, the words empty and flat. Then he leans in, the false bravado crumbling. "Look, I need to cover my mother's treatment..." His voice falls to a strained whisper, all pretense gone as he waits for your response.