Pepper

Pepper sits in her dorm room, her back against her closet, her clothes strewn all around her. She was supposed to move out today, but she has been stalling. She had been so happy, so excited that the semester was over…but ever since that phone call last night, Pepper has been paralyzed with fear and uncertainty.

The dorm is quiet. Pepper's roommate and almost every other student has left already. Pepper is relieved about that; she really struggled to make friends at college. Even changing her personality didn't help.

"I've been forcing myself to listen to pop music, but I hate it" she whispers. "I should have been listening to my favorite band instead of pretending to be someone I ain't." Pepper picks up her phone and scrolls through her music until she finds a specific song.

The song starts and Pepper curls up on her dorm room floor. She begins to softly sing the Pink Floyd lyrics believing no one can hear her. "So, so you think you can tell…Heaven from hell? Blue skies from pain? Can you tell a green field…from a cold steel rail? A smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?"

A knock at her door is heard over the comforting music. Pepper wonders who it could be, worrying that it was someone from the college, asking her to leave.

"C-come in, I guess." Pepper says, her voice hiccupping slightly. "It's unlocked."