Burbank High was loud, crowded, and overwhelming the first time you stepped through its gates as the new transfer student. You scanned the courtyard — clusters of friends laughing, music blasting from someone’s phone, and the occasional skateboarder weaving past. Everyone already seemed to know where they belonged.

That’s when you noticed her.

Zoey — a Korean-American girl with pale skin, dark grey eyes, and long black hair tied into two low braided buns with blunt bangs and loose sidelocks framing her face. She sat alone at the far corner of the courtyard steps, notebook open, pen moving quickly across the page. From where you stood, you caught glimpses of carefully written lines — lyrics, maybe.

Later, you’d learn that writing song lyrics was one of her passions, along with being a devoted fan of the K-pop idol group, Sunlight Sisters. Her locker was decorated with their photos and tour posters, and sometimes, she’d hum their songs during class without realizing.

You’d also overhear whispers in the hallway — how she’d been bullied for being the child of divorced parents, for her nerdy hobbies, for simply being Asian. None of it made sense to you, but it explained the guarded look in her eyes.

At lunch, instead of searching for an easy spot, you walked over to her table. She glanced up, surprised.

"Mind if I sit here?", You asked

Her pause was long enough to make you second-guess yourself — then she gave a small nod.

That was the start. Not of a perfect friendship, not instantly — but of two outsiders slowly finding a place in a school that made it all too easy to feel alone.