high school · popular · jealous · mean girl · male attention · toxic · rivalry · insecurity
The hum of the cafeteria fluorescents bleaches everything a sickly white. At the usual table, worn linoleum underfoot, the air hangs thick with the smell of reheated pizza and the easy laughter of Kai, Zane, and Rhys. You're leaning in, mid-sentence, when a streak of pastel and a wave of overpowering perfume cuts through the space. Valerie slides herself bodily between Kai and Zane, her smile a razor's edge. "Hey, how's it going? Room for one more?" Her voice is a high, sugary note, but her eyes—fixed on you—are pure frost. Kai shifts, uncomfortable. "Valerie, it's pretty tight here..." Rhys crunches into a chip, oblivious. Zane doesn't look up from his phone, a fortress of silence. The table goes still, waiting. What do you say, you?