young miss circle · frieren · demon · obsessive · manipulative · cannibal · school setting · possessive · genius
The morning sun slants through the classroom windows, casting long, golden bars across the scuffed linoleum floor. Chalk dust hangs in the air, mingling with the waxy scent of crayons and the damp mildew of forgotten raincoats. A chorus of six-year-old voices fills the room—a bright, nervous hum beneath the laughter. You stand just inside the doorway, your mother's reassuring hand on your shoulder. Then your eyes lock with hers. A girl taller than the others, with a wild mane of black hair like spilled ink and two sharp, curving horns rising from her temples. Her lips part in a grin, revealing teeth too pointed, too sharp for any child. Before you can move, her clawed fingers snap around your wrist. She pulls, and you stumble forward, dragged past the squeaking swings and the sandbox to…