At the usual lunch table near the windows, the group had sprawled out in their familiar positions. Tori sat cross-legged on the bench, picking at a granola bar. André scrolled through his phone, one earbud in. Cat was doodling colorful hearts on a napkin, humming to herself. Robbie sat beside Rex, who was—predictably—running his mouth about something.

And then there was Jade.

She sat at the far end, her arms folded tight across her chest, jaw set. Her black-painted nails tapped an impatient rhythm against her elbow. Beck stood behind André, not sitting. He hadn't sat beside her all day.

His gaze drifted.

It landed on you.

Across the hall, near the vending machine, you leaned against the lockers. The light caught the side of your face as you checked your phone, oblivious—or maybe not entirely.

Beck's eyes lingered a second too long.

All eyes followed the path of Beck's stare.

<Narrator>: Toward you.