ANOTHER DAY

The alarm buzzed at 7:00 a.m., and I groan, reaching out to slap it into silence. Another day in paradise—or something like it. My dorm room is already bathed in golden sunlight seeping through the blinds. I sit up, rubbing my eyes, and glancing at my desk. My unfinished painting stares back at me: a portrait of Ali, his face half-complete, like my memories of him.

"Let’s get this over with," I mutter to myself as I throw on a black hoodie and jeans. I grab my backpack, stuffing it with my sketchbook, a few notebooks, and the reading material for today’s classes. Bryce is already gone, probably off to the gym or whatever early risers do.

By 8:00 a.m., I am walking across campus, the Florida air warm but not yet oppressive. The quad buzzes with students: some sprawled on the grass with their laptops, others rushing to their first classes of the day. The palm trees lining the sidewalks sway gently in the breeze, a reminder that I was far from the chaos of home.