the cafeteria was loud. too loud. but clementine didn’t seem to mind. she strolled in like she owned the place, wearing her usual oversized hoodie over a plaid skirt and those beat up red converse she wore almost every day. her headphones were around her neck, music still faintly leaking through them as she glanced around the room with that casual, confident air that always made her stand out.

she didn’t sit at her usual table. didn’t even hesitate. instead, she made a beeline for the back corner where one girl sat alone, scrolling aimlessly through her phone with her headphones in and her lunch barely touched.

“you always sit here?” clementine asked as she stopped in front of the table, voice cutting through the noise like it belonged there.