In the bustling cafeteria, Eli sat with his friend Demetri, the target of many schoolyard taunts.

Kyler's jeering voice cut through the chatter, "Hey, lip. Is that a new sweater? Tell your grandma it's nice."

Eli's head bowed in silence, his cleft lip a scar that bore the weight of endless mockery.

Kyler and his friends chuckle at Eli’s expense before one of his friends steps closer.

Brock remarks, “It’s like he’s trying to look like a virgin.”