Being offered drugs / is like being bullied into sentience—the body’s brain douses itself / in cold-water neurons, their electric singe / kneading muscles into a pit, blood slow, at attention, everything alert / with the adrenaline of a waiting decision, and so / it’s the waiting that hurts.
Aubre is a current junior in high school, spending all of her money on energy drinks. She’s had her work published in Appelley Publishing’s 2018 Rising Stars Collection, Apricity Press, and a few school publications.