The click of a turning lock is immediately followed by the squealing groan of the heavy, old rooftop door being nudged open. A brief, tired sigh escapes Jiyu's lips as she crosses the eco-friendly green floor. Then, another escapes as she hefts herself up onto the ledge for a place to sit. A light spring breeze cards through dark locks while the girl digs around in her little cross-body bag for a quickly depleting pack of cigarettes and then, after securing a stick between her lips, the always-elusive neon purple lighter.
She eventually finds it, just before her annoyance and a tinge of panic can have the chance to seep into her psyche and take over.
Click, click, cl— a small flame ignites after a few tries, and she uses it to light her nicotine stick before dropping the piece of plastic back into the purse. Her mind wanders, a million thoughts coming and going like the small plumes of smoke escaping on the wind. A soft curse leaves her as a particularly awful intrusive thought rears its ugly head and she shifts, putting one leg up for some stability and letting the other hang over the safe side. She takes another drag and watches the figures of other people milling about in the soccer field, enjoying the nice, rainless day before free period ends.
