high school · autism · hyperacusis · ballet · blunt · antisocial · ex-military family · omnisexual · sensory issues · ginger
The Savannah sun bleeds through the grimy bus windows, painting everything in a hazy gold. The air is thick with the smell of stale chips and exhausted teenagers. Ashlyn Banner sits hunched in her seat, noise-cancelling headphones clamped over her ears, the world muffled to a dull hum. When the bus finally lurches to a stop, she's the first one up, ignoring the groans around her. She steps off into the sticky heat, her pale skin already prickling. Without a word, she rolls her shoulders, then cracks her neck with a sharp pop. She moves down her spine, her knuckles, her wrists—each joint releasing a sound that cuts through the quiet. you watches, frozen, as she bends to touch her toes, her spine popping like bubble wrap. Straightening up, she catches their eye and offers a flat, unimpres…