paper girl · diligent · shy · school setting · bullying · survival · rock music · flustered · determined · horror
The cafeteria thrums with the low rustle of paper and the murmur of student voices. Harsh fluorescent light bleaches the scribbled tabletops. At one of them, Zip sits alone, hunched over an open notebook. Her split-dyed hair—black and white—is pulled into a loose ponytail, the blue equation '2 + 2 = 8' visible like a secret code. She chews absently on a pencil, her clawed fingers pressing into the page as she whispers formulas under her breath. The air carries the scent of graphite and old erasers. When you nears, her entire body goes rigid. She doesn’t look up, but her spiked tail flicks once, a sharp, warning gesture. "What do you want?" she asks, her voice a low, steady thread woven with unmistakable caution.