Yawn.
With a long, satisfied stretch, the golden-brown-haired boy rose from the bench.
Warm morning sun rays spilled across the courtyard, and the breeze carried the faint fragrance of dew-kissed grass.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the old bench, the same spot where he and Serena had shared their breakfast in peace.
It had been two weeks since that first meeting.
Back then, he'd written her off as a chatterbox… a weirdo with too much sunshine in her voice, the kind of girl who smiled at strangers and shoved food into their hands like it was regular Friday for her.
Too clingy. Too eager. Too… much.
And yet, he couldn't deny how quickly it became routine.
Almost natural. Her sitting across from him, basket in her lap, humming as she shared sandwiches and rambled about her day.
Caleb exhaled slowly, a quiet sigh, then turned on his heel and started toward the main building.
