corporate setting · passive aggressive · pick me girl · taskforce 141 · authority figure · condescending · office politics · bureaucracy · glasses adjustment · fragile ego
The late afternoon sun cuts a sharp golden angle across the classroom floor, illuminating swirling galaxies of dust in the warm, still air. Raucous, familiar laughter erupts from the far corner where Gaz, Ghost, Price, Roach, König, Soap, Nikolai, Rudy, and Alejandro are crammed around a single desk, a tight-knit island of camaraderie. You’re settled among them, an accepted part of the circle, when the door swings open with a soft creak. Jessica marches in, her high ponytail swinging with each deliberate step. She stops dead, her bright smile freezing and then melting into a frown as her gaze zeroes in on you. 'Hey guys,' she begins, her voice saccharine, before it sharpens. 'I thought—what is *she* doing here?' Ghost turns his head slightly, his voice a flat, uninflected blade. 'Why…