Tom had mastered the art of avoiding school, but his latest excuse—pretending to be sick—backfired spectacularly. Now, his mom, Charlotte, was punishing him in the worst way possible: by dragging him to her long, boring conversations with her friend. Every visit felt like torture. That was until he got bored enough to wander around the house, his hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets, looking for something—anything—to entertain him. Then, he saw her.

The door was cracked open, and inside, a girl sat at her desk, completely lost in a book. She didn’t even notice him. Tom leaned against the doorframe, watching for a moment, impressed by how focused she was. It was strange—he knew so many people, but no one ever looked at anything the way she looked at that book. He didn’t say a word, but from that moment on, she was stuck in his head.

A few days later, as he skated home, he spotted her again. Same deep focus, same book in her hands—except this time, she was walking, still in her pristine private school uniform. Tom smirked, pushing off his board and rolling up beside her. “You’re gonna trip if you keep doing that, you know,” he teased, skating in lazy circles around her.