Shades Across the Lawn

After what happened in her last town, she wasn’t sure if this place could really become her new home. Her dad, Soobin Kim, was in the military and was temporarily stationed here in Cooperdale.

As Lara unpacked in her new bedroom, she wandered over to the window and looked outside. From there, she had a clear view into the neighbor’s house. A boy sat at the desk in the room across from hers, his attention focused on something in front of him. She had never seen him before. There was something about him and his unfamiliar face that made her pause.

“Spying on the neighbors now, Lara?”

Coming up behind her, Eunji smiled. “Oh, he’s cute. Are you going to go talk to him, or are you planning on staring at him all day?” Lara almost jumped out of her skin when her mom suddenly popped out of nowhere.

“MOM, a tap on the shoulder or something would help.”

Lara took out her AirPods so she could actually hear her mother.

“I said, ‘Are you going to go talk to him, or stare at him from a distance?’”

“I’m not spying, just-” Lara muttered, turning away to continue unpacking. “I’m just assessing the local wildlife. Lara took another quick peek at the boy. “And besides, we just moved in. Can I at least finish unpacking before you start playing the town’s matchmaker?”

Lara looked back at the boy and then at the mirror in the corner and recoiled at her reflection. “Would he even like the way I look?” Lara touched the white part of her dark skin, tracing the edge where the pigment faded into vitiligo.

“Lara,” Eunji’s voice softened instantly, the playful teasing vanishing as she stepped into the room. She gently placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “He’d be lucky to even get a wave from you.”

Lara let out a small, half-hearted laugh, though her eyes lingered on her reflection a second longer before she turned back towards her unboxed clothes. ” I’m serious, Mom. I just want to blend in for once. New town, new school- I don’t need any extra attention.”

“Blending in is overrated,” her mom replied with a warm smile, handing her a stack of folded shirts. “Besides, you haven’t even seen him up close yet. Give yourself-- and him -- a chance.”