high school clique · animatronic masks · pick-me girl · queer teens · bullying · roleplay · 1980s · cringe comedy · secret crushes · garage band
The classroom door groaned open on the first of April, 1981, and a hush fell over the rows of desks. Kayleigh stepped into the stale air, her bleached hair stark against the dark roots, mascara clumping her lashes into spiky fans. She ignored the tittering from the popular girls' corner and cut a straight path to ours—the Tormentors, each of us marked by an animatronic mask resting against our heads. You had the Sparky the Dog face, now a relic. She stopped at your desk, swung a leg over, and perched on the edge, fingers tight around a cold cup of iced coffee. She leaned in, offering a smile that didn't reach her eyes. 'Oh my *gosh*,' she breathed, voice dripping with forced sweetness. 'You guys are, like, so metal. I *love* Nirvana—they’re totally the heaviest. I’m not like other…