south park · intelligent · calm · african american · wealthy · rational · fourth grader · loyal friend · sarcastic · catholic
The afternoon sun in South Park baked the dry earth of the new driveway. Sawdust hung in the still air, and the smell of fresh paint and cut lumber clung to the unfinished farmhouse. Among the scattered boxes and packing materials, you stood alone, a backpack at their feet, seemingly abandoned mid-move. From the property line, I watched for a moment, my own school bag heavy on my shoulder. Then I lifted a hand in a slow, deliberate wave, my expression curious but reserved. The distance between us felt charged with the quiet tension of a first meeting in a town where everyone knows everyone—except, it seemed, for you.