Experience the emotional journey of a young woman struggling with depression, addiction, and social isolation as she navigates the challenges of high school. Despite the many obstacles in her life, she finds herself drawn to a popular boy who mistre...
Aurora slowly regains consciousness, finding herself in her childhood bedroom. Confusion washes over her as she takes in the familiar surroundings. She sits up in bed, scratching her head, trying to make sense of it all.
Just then, she hears her mom's voice calling out, "Aurora sweetie, breakfast is ready." Perplexed, Aurora makes her way out of her room and sees her mom in the kitchen. With a confused tone, she says, "Mom?" and rushes over to hug her. The warmth of the embrace fills Aurora with happiness. She closes her eyes, cherishing the moment of being reunited with her mom.
However, Aurora's joy quickly turns to horror as her mom's laughter takes on an eerie and malevolent tone. The laughter doesn't stop, sending shivers down Aurora's spine. Trembling, she looks up at her mom, only to see blood streaming from her eyes. Aurora's heart races as her mom accuses her, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. YOU'RE THE REASON I'M LIKE THIS."
Aurora's mom's grip tightens, making it difficult for her to break free. Filled with fear and confusion, Aurora desperately tries to fight against her mom's hold but finds herself unable to escape. She shuts her eyes tightly and screams, still unable to comprehend what is happening.
As Aurora opens her eyes again, she finds herself lying on one of the nurse beds in the school's nurse's office. The terrifying encounter with her mom was just a nightmare, but its impact lingers in her mind. She takes a moment to catch her breath, trying to make sense of the unsettling experience.
Aurora slowly opens her eyes, and notices she is in the nurse's office. As she starts to sit up, the nurse walks over and asks, "Bad dream? You were screaming very loudly. Are you okay?" Aurora nods and replies, "Yeah, just a nightmare."
The nurse continues, "Well, I tried calling your father, but he didn't answer. I left him a voicemail and told him you passed out. I asked if he could come get you, but you can go back to class or stay here if you don't feel like going back right now." Aurora's eyes widen in shock as she exclaims, "Wait, you called my father?" The nurse responds, "Yeah, he should know if you're okay." Feeling a sense of urgency, Aurora says, "I need to go."
She quickly leaves the nurse's office and heads to her next class. When she arrives, she knocks on the door, and Emilliano opens it, looking concerned. He asks, "Aurora, you good?" Aurora reassures him, "Yeah, I'm fine," and pushes past him, heading to her seat. Caspian isn't in this class since she is in her 6th period and she passed out in her 4th.
Whispers fill the classroom as everyone notices Aurora's return. The teacher interrupts, saying, "EVERYONE QUIET DOWN. Today, we'll be working in pairs. I'll be choosing your partners." The class grumbles, and the teacher pulls out a clipboard with partnered names.
The teacher starts reading the names of the partnered students: "Laylani and Catarina, Zach and Mia, Emilliano and Aurora, Tiana and Zuri, Jason and Diana." Emilliano walks over to Aurora and sits next to her, saying, "I guess we have to work together" with an annoyed tone.
Aurora responds, "Emilliano, I didn't ghost you, okay? I just had stuff going on." Caspian chimes in, saying, "They all say that, whatever. Okay, we need to go to page 64, read the Spanish paragraph, and explain what it means."
Aurora replies, "Yeah, I know. I heard what he said." Emilliano replies "clearly not you looked confu- but Aurora cuts him off, saying, "You can't be mad at me just because I had stuff going on. We all have stuff going on."
Emilliano replies, "So that means you can just ignore me?" Aurora says, "You know what? If you don't believe me, I don't care. Let's just get the fucking work done."
Aurora and Emilliano finish their work silently, not uttering a word to each other. They diligently complete their tasks, checking and fixing their answers. With a roll of her eyes, Aurora gets up and confidently walks over to the teacher, handing in their work. The teacher congratulates them on a job well done and dismisses them back to their seats.
Aurora takes her place at her desk, feeling a mix of frustration and determination. She turns to Emilliano and boldly says, "If you don't believe me, that's fine. But I know what really happened, while you choose to assume based on your own experiences." Emilliano looks at her, perplexed by her strong conviction, before returning to his seat, unsure of how to respond.
As the bell rings, Aurora heads to her 7th period class, which happens to be her last class of the day. She takes her seat and gets ready for the lesson. Suddenly, a girl taps on Aurora's shoulder, wearing a big smile.
She asks, "Hey, we're having a sleepover tonight with my friends. It's gonna be so much fun, with guys, drinks..." She leans in closer and whispers, "and weeeeeed. Wanna come?" Aurora looks confused and replies, "Wait, you're inviting me to a sleepover?" The girl shrugs and says, "Well yeah, everyone deserves a friend, Aurora."
Aurora looks even more confused as she says, "Wait, how do you..." But before she could finish her sentence, the girl interrupts and says, "Well, here's my snap. I'll send you my address. It'll be around 7:30 pm. Don't forget to bring your sexy pajamas," she says with a giggle.
Aurora doesn't know what to think of the whole situation. Who is this girl? Why is she being so nice to Aurora and inviting her to her house when they barely know each other? After class, Aurora goes straight home, thankful that her father isn't there.
She considers telling him about the sleepover, but she knows how he'd react. So, she decides to sneak out later, knowing her father won't be home until around 12 in the morning.
Aurora gets ready for the sleepover, carefully picking out her favorite pajamas and packing a small overnight bag with her essentials. She takes a moment to fix her hair and apply a touch of lip gloss, wanting to make a good impression so she doesn't seem like the ugly one of the group.
Aurora's pajamas
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Feeling a mix of worry and nervousness, Aurora heads over to the address the girl sent her. As she approaches the house, she takes a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She can't help but wonder what awaits her on the other side of that door.
With a trembling hand, Aurora reaches out and knocks on the door. The seconds feel like an eternity as she waits for someone to answer. Finally, the door swings open, and Aurora is shocked to see...
