Henry nodded along, his slicked-back blonde hair catching the fluorescent light. He clutched his notebook to his chest like a shield, trying to keep up with Sue's brisk pace.

A dark-haired girl sat on the floor by her locker, scribbling furiously in a spiral notebook. She didn't look up.

A boy with a deflated basketball under his arm leaned against the lockers, arms crossed, watching the crowd pass with an unimpressed stare.

Karen glanced their way, flipping her blonde ponytail, then turned back to her friends without a second thought.

She pointed toward a bench near the far window. A few kids lingered there, but one figure sat apart from the group, shoulders slightly hunched, dark hair falling into their eyes as they read a dog-eared paperback.

Sue looked at Henry expectantly, as if waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she sighed.