The sky looked normal again.
That was the first thing that felt off.
Nova stood in the middle of the school courtyard the next morning. Her hoodie sleeves were bunched in her fists, and she squinted against the bright light. The sun was up. Too much. It blazed down without apology. The cement beneath her felt sticky, as if heat had melted something inside it.
Kids came in from the parking lot. Some were already peeling off layers, while others dragged their backpacks behind them like they were weights. Music played softly from someone's phone. A teacher stood near the entrance, holding a walkie-talkie and coffee that resembled motor oil.
And yet.
There were **no shadows**.
Not really.
There should have been. Her body blocked the light, obviously. But the shape on the ground didn't match—it was too long, too thin. The edges flickered, as if the shadow couldn't decide what shape she was. Across the courtyard, under a line of scraggly cottonwoods, the shadows of the branches didn't move even when the wind rustled the leaves.
Nova stepped forward.
The sun stayed still.
It wasn't moving. Not visibly. No slow arc. It just hung there, as if someone had pinned it to the sky and forgotten about it.
Then she saw him.
Across the courtyard. Standing in the center of the pale concrete where the shade should have pooled. Right where the flagpole cast no shadow.
**Jace Hollowell**.
He looked like a photograph that hadn't fully developed. Present, but a little too bright. A bit washed out. Like he existed on a layer of the world her eyes couldn't fully see.
He didn't blink.
She didn't move.
Other students passed between them. None looked at him. None reacted. It was as if he wasn't there. Or as if he had always been there.
He tilted his head slightly.
Her heart knocked once, hard.
He raised a hand. Just a small motion.
Nova's breath caught.
She took a step toward him—
—and the bell rang.
Not the long one. Just the short, piercing one that came between periods. Too sharp. Too close.
When she looked back, he was gone.
The flag flapped once.
Nova stood alone in the sunlight that cast no shadows.