Eli Navarro wasn't used to being noticed — and she liked it that way.
Her days were predictable: quiet mornings, silent classes, lunch alone at the edge of the cafeteria, sketching whatever felt less complicated than people. Today, it was the crumbling lighthouse out by Hollow Cliff, the one she always drew when she didn't want to think too hard.
But when Skyler Reyes stepped into school that Monday, everything shifted.
Skyler had red-dyed tips in her black hair, a camera strapped across her chest, and the kind of energy that made teachers glance twice and students whisper. She was all colors and laughter — the total opposite of Eli's grayscale world.
At lunch, Eli was mid-sketch when a shadow fell over her table.
"Mind if I sit?" a voice asked.
Eli looked up. Skyler. And she was smiling.
Eli blinked. "You sure you want to?"
Skyler slid into the seat anyway. "This your drawing?" she asked, peering at the lighthouse. "It's gorgeous."
Eli's heart skipped. No one had called her art that before.
"Thanks," she mumbled. "It's kind of my favorite place."
Skyler leaned in, her eyes sparkling. "Wanna take me there?"
Eli laughed softly — startled by how easy it felt. "It's locked."
Skyler grinned. "Even better. Sounds like an adventure."