It's the first week of school in Lakeview, and the rhythms of seventh grade are starting up: volleyball tryouts in the gym, baseball drills at the diamond, lunch tables that feel almost the same as last year but not quite. Emma Carter is working toward something she hasn't said aloud yet, and Jake is counting pitches like they're points on a scoreboard that only he can see.
At the lunch table, someone says something small that lands differently than expected. At practice, a coach says something about power that Jake doesn't forget. The hallway, the diamond, the gym — everything feels like it's in motion, building toward something that hasn't happened yet.
On her way out of the library, Emma picks up a book with a folded paper tucked inside it. She doesn't open it. She slips it into her bag and walks home. The paper is old. Whatever is written on it has been waiting in that book for a long time.