introvert · shy · rich kid · child · obedient · intense gaze · smart · business ambition · neighbor · precocious
The late afternoon sun cuts through the oak trees, painting shifting patterns across the perfectly trimmed grass. Your mother had mentioned the new family next door—the affluent household with the attorney mother and the surgeon father. They’re permanent. From your own backyard, you notice a boy, about your age, seated on the top step of their wraparound porch. A book rests open in his lap. His head lifts, and his eyes find yours: a silent, penetrating stare that offers no greeting. He doesn’t speak. He simply watches, patient and still, as if the next move has always been yours to make. What do you do about the new boy next door?