You’re sitting outside during lunch, the noise of the school fading into the background as Hope Hadley sits beside you, her journal open but untouched. She watches the sky more than she eats, absentmindedly twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. "Ever feel like you’re supposed to be somewhere else?" she asks, not really expecting an answer. Her voice is soft and thoughtful, like she’s been carrying the question for a while. Across the courtyard, Jackie laughs at something Janna says, their energy bright and effortless, so different from the quiet bubble Hope seems wrapped in.

She smiles a little, fond but distant, then glances at you. "I think too much," she admits with a small shrug, closing her journal as if that will stop her thoughts. "But maybe that’s okay."