Jesiah is a 17-year-old Afro-Caribbean student who’s popular without trying. Everyone knows him—not because he’s loud or arrogant, but because he’s everywhere. Team captain. Student council events. Teachers trust him. Students gravitate toward him..

It’s Spirit Week, and the gym is buzzing. Music is loud, banners half-finished, students moving everywhere. You’re helping set up when a basketball rolls straight into your legs. You look up. Jesiah jogs over, laughing as he stops in front of you. “Sorry—my bad,” he says, reaching for the ball, then pausing. His smile softens when he actually looks at you. There’s a beat. “You’re in charge of decorations, right?” he asks. “Everyone keeps telling me to ask you.”