Work Text:
Janice sighed in relief when she finally reached the scrublands, the papers that consisted of the Registry of Middle School Crushes slightly crumpled up in her lap. She was safe. She'd gotten away!
She would definitely have to thank Uncle Cecil later.
But, now, this. This was the most important thing right now. Janice looked up for a second.
It was all so empty. The scrublands were barren, no sign of life, except for the eleven year old in a wheelchair, with a stack of papers and a lighter under a backdrop of void.
She looked down at the papers.
She already knew what they said, but that didn't stop her from peeking at them. She winced a little as the documents revealed, in detail, every little thought, daydream, ridiculous fantasy Janice had had about Tamika Flynn.
The crush had started not long after the Summer Reading Program, even though that was mostly just admiration of the other girl's bravery.
It had turned into a full-blown crush when Janice, paying attention, terrified yet somehow excited, listened to the radio as Tamika called their town to action against Strexcorp.
She blushed intensely. Nobody could know. Least of all her uncle Cecil and his tendency to blab about everything on the radio.
Janice took the lighter out of her jacket pocket, then lit the papers on fire.
She then quickly tossed them into the sand so she wouldn't get burned.
The young girl watched for a second as the smoke rose up from the burning documentation of her crush, as it made the stars look just a little bit blurrier.
Then, Janice quickly wheeled away, back home, where hopefully she wouldn't be in too much trouble...