Nika lit a cigarette she didn’t inhale, watched the smoke curl toward a water-stained ceiling. “Everyone does,” she said. “Most just decorate better.”
Outside, someone laughed — bright, careless. Inside, the radiator hissed a secret. Nika closed her eyes and let the darkness settle over her like a coat that fit perfectly, even if it had never belonged to anyone else. nika noir dorm
“You live like a suspect,” her roommate once said. Nika lit a cigarette she didn’t inhale, watched
Fin.