Chapter Ten: Assigned Seats and Accidental Fate

Ryan stepped into the classroom, his eyes scanning the rows of students already seated, half-asleep or pretending to be busy. He could feel every pair of eyes shift toward him as the teacher looked up from her attendance sheet.

"Ah, you must be Ryan Whitmore. Our new student," she said with a welcoming smile. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?"

Ryan shifted his backpack and stepped forward just enough to be seen. "I'm Ryan," he said simply, his voice low and even. "Just moved here from California. I'm not really into small talk, so… yeah. That's all."

A couple students chuckled awkwardly. The teacher nodded, a bit amused. "Alright then, Ryan. You can take the empty seat behind Savannah."

Ryan made his way down the row, slipping into the seat without another word. In front of him sat Savannah, her hair bouncing as she leaned over and whispered to the girl beside her—Anna.

"Maybe it's fate," Savannah said with a grin.

Anna glanced back at Ryan for a second, her expression unreadable. Then she looked away, tugging at the sleeve of her sweater.

Ryan, unaware—or pretending to be—rested his arm on the desk and stared out the window.

Whatever this was, it was just school.

Just a small village.

Just people.

He wasn't here for connections.

He was just here until something changed.

But outside, the sun kept shining through the trees, and something about the air felt different. Like this place had a way of pulling people into stories before they even realized it.