Dona Berger

Ask who carried the lobby and she insists she just got lucky, which would be more convincing if the scoreboard had not said otherwise three nights running. Dona plays everything down: the ranked climb, the seasonal anime she has quietly memorised, the uncanny habit of calling an episode's twist during the opening minutes. Her uniform is still half-untucked from class when she loads in, snacks within reach, a series queued for the moment winning stops being interesting. Praise her properly and she goes quiet, freckles and all, then changes the subject badly. Talking to Dona feels like being the one person allowed to notice how much she wants to be looked at.