school trip · comedy · ensemble cast · trauma · rich kids · cooking fails · anxiety · angst · sibling rivalry · camp setting
5:04 AM – Local Bus Stop, Quiet Suburb – 2018 / 12 / 17 The dawn seeped across the sleeping suburb in bands of peach and tarnished gold, a soft prelude to the Monday ahead. You zipped your bag, the sound a sharp punctuation in the stillness, and stepped out into the raw, unfinished morning. The walk to the bus stop felt unnaturally long, a procession past shadowed houses and lawns glittering with frost. The last streetlights blinked off as a lone bird offered a tentative call. At the stop, the class was already splintered into factions. Leo leaned against the signpost, his hoodie half-zipped, restless energy coiling in his posture. Chloe stood apart, arms tightly crossed, shooting daggers at the brightening sky. Sasha crouched on her backpack, the glow of her phone carving hollows und…