The morning light spilled softly across Janine Flores room, tracing the golden lines across her pale curtains. She sat up squinting against the morning light filtering through her curtains.
Her sketchbook lay open on her desk, where she'd fallen asleep drawing again. Lines of half-finished faces, eyes that said too much.
That was the thing about Janine - she drew what she couldn't say.
She pulled herself out of bed and stood before the mirror. Same messy brown curls. Same faint freckles across her nose. Her eyes - a soft golden brown - looked almost honey-like under the light. Stunning is one word she'll use to describe herself. The kind of girl who always stood out.
She grabbed her towel and left for the bathroom. After bathing she stood in front of the mirror again and did her makeup.
She brushed her hair and tied it into a loose ponytail, slipped into her navy blue school skirt and buttoned her white shirt halfway before frowning at her reflection.
"Too proper", she muttered. She unbuttoned one more, tied her tie loosely, and grabbed her denim jacket.
"Janine! You're going to be late again!" Her mother's voice floated from the kitchen.
"I'm coming!" With a groggy sigh she reached for the sliver chain hanging on her nightstand - her mother's necklace. The small moon shaped pendant had dulled with age, but it was her favorite thing in the world. She clasped it around her neck before heading downstairs.
By the time she came downstairs her fifteen-year-old brother, Mateo ,was already halfway out the door, his backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Morning lazybones," he said with that annoying smirk he'd perfected.
"Morning pest," she shot back, stealing a piece of toast from his plate.
Her Dad looked up from the newspaper, smiling behind his glasses. "Try not to cause another stampede in the hallway today, okay, Janine?"
"Dad, that was one time! Someone spilled juice, and-"
Her six year old sister, Eva, interrupted with a giggle. "Janine fell right on her butt!"
Everyone laughed, and Janine rolled her eyes, grabbing her back pack. "You guys are evil. I'm leaving before you ruin my reputation even more."
"Bye sweetheart," her mom called as she hurried out the door. "Tell Lila I said hi"
Outside the streets of the French Quarter were alive with early sunlight and quiet chatter - musicians setting up on corners, locals sweeping doorsteps, the faint echo of jazz drifting from somewhere unseen.
Lila's car was parked by the curb, the music already blasting something upbeat.
"Finally!" Lila yelled through the open window. "We were about to leave you!"
Lila Moreau was all fire and sunshine - freckled skin glowing under the morning light, reddish-blonde hair tied in a messsy ponytail that never seemed to behave. She wore a denim jacket covered in colorful pins and mismatched bracelets that jingled whenever she moved. Loud, funny and loyal to the bone - she was the kind of friend who'd climb a school fence if it meant cheering Janine up.
In the passenger seat sat Camilla Torres - cami to her friends. Perfect eyeliner, long black hair, olive skin that always seemed to glow like she knew some secret no one else did. She looked confident, untouchable even, but Janine had learned to see the cracks- the quiet loneliness behind every joke.
"Relax I'm here," Janine said, climbing into the back seat. "Morning ladies".
Cami handed her a cup, "Coffee, before you try to function without one."
"My lifesaver," Janine muttered, taking a sip. " I had a long night. Biology notes are slowly killing me."
"Oh please," Lila said. "You and Alex were probably texting until 2 a.m, confessing undying love or whatever disgusting thing couples do."
Janine blushed. "We were talking about... the school project."
Lila gasped theatrically. " Project Gabriel strikes again!"
Cami smirked. "You mean boyfriend of the year? The one who makes every girl in this school sigh like it's a religion?"
They all burst out laughing as they entered the gates of De La Salle High. The building loomed ahead - tall, old, and painted in soft cream tones that gleamed under the sun. The school courtyard buzzed with the usual noise: slamming lockers, snippets of gossip, laughter echoing off the walls.
Janine loved mornings like this - when everything felt alive, normal, and beautifully predictable.
That illusion was shattered the moment she stepped into class.
Because sitting near the window, head bent over a notebook was Alex Gabriel - and beside him, perched far too close, was Tessa Morgan.
"Ugh" Lila whispered. The viper returns."
Cami raised a brow. "I thought Tessa was still in New York."
"She came back yesterday," Lila replied, eyes narrowed. "Probably to reclaim her throne."
Janine forced a small smile as she walked towards Alex. His steel-grey eyes lighting up the moment he saw her. "Hey sunshine," he greeted, standing to kiss her cheek. "I saved you a seat."
"Hi," she murmured, smiling despite the sharp look Tessa threw her way.
"Oh, Janine," Tessa said sweetly, twirling her platinum hair. "You're still in this class? How cute."
"Still top of it actually," Janine replied calmly, sitting down.
Lila muttered, "Burn" under her breath, and cami almost choked trying not to laugh.
Alex chuckled softly, giving Janine's hand a reassuring squeeze under the table. Across the room, Mason Leblanc was leaning against the back wall, his dirty-blonde hair catching the light. He grinned. "Man the drama just keeps writing itself."
Beside him, Hunter Reeves tilted his head, blue eyes sharp. "Depends on who's writing it," he said, his tone smooth but layered with something unreadable. His gaze lingered on Janine a moment too long - curious, maybe even calculating - before he looked away.
The teacher entered, cutting off the chatter. "Settle down, everyone."
But Janine's thoughts weren't on the lesson. Alex kept doodling in the margin of his notebook - a messy sketch of a moon and stars, their private little symbol. He slid it to her under the table with a grin.
She smiled. That was Alex - always a mix of charm and chaos.
By lunchtime, everything felt easy again. They sat under the oak tree in the courtyard, the same one where Alex had first told her he liked her. Lila was busy gossiping about a new teacher, Cami was scrolling through her phone and Alex had his head in Janine's lap, tracing lazy circles on her palm.
"Hey," he said softly, glancing up at her. "You've been quiet."
"Just thinking," she murmured. "About how fast everything's been moving. School, us..."
He smiled, that half smirk that made her heart twist. "You mean us being perfect?"
She laughed. "You're so full of yourself, and I like that."
"I'm full of you," he said, mock serious, making her throw a leaf at him.
Lila groaned."Get a room now, will ya."
Hunter walked by then, tossing his backpack over one shoulder. "Careful now Gabriel," he said, flashing a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Some things that shine too bright tend to burn out fast."
"Thanks for the poetry, Reeves," Alex shot back. "But we're good".
Hunter shrugged, smirked and walked away. Mason, trailing behind, gave an awkward little wave to Janine. "Ignore him. He's just being... Hunter."
Janine nodded, but the words stuck with her.
That afternoon, after school Alex offered to walk her home. The sky had turned soft pink, clouds stretched thin like ribbons. They stopped by the bridge overlooking the quiet bayou - their usual place. The wind played with Janine's hair and for a moment, everything felt like a dream she never wanted to end.
"Four more days", Alex said quietly, his voice filled with something she couldn't quite name.
"Until your dad comes", she replied.
He nodded. "Feels weird, you know? I don't even remember what it's like having him around for real."
"You'll get used to it," she said gently. "It'll be good for you both."
"Maybe." He looked away, eyes fixed on the horizon. "Sometimes I think he's like a ghost I'm wanting to meet."
Janine didn't know why, but that sentence made her heart skip - not from romance but from something else. Something she couldn't explain.
Later, when she got home, her mom was on the phone, Eva was coloring on the floor and Mateo was playing loud music upstairs. Everything felt... normal. She dropped her bag and went to her room staring out the window.
The sun was sinking behind the houses, painting the sky in gold and crimson — beautiful, but fleeting.
She touched her mother's necklace and whispered, "Please don't let anything change."
But in the quiet that followed, a soft wind slipped through her open window, fluttering the pages of her sketchbook until it stopped on a blank page.
And for some reason, Janine felt it — a shift.
Something unseen, standing just beyond the horizon.
Four days.
Four days until the name Lucas Gabriel would no longer be just a story Alex told her — but a storm about to walk through her door.
---