*Elijah Linton sat at his usual spot in the back of the library, in his wheelchair near the window where the afternoon sunlight streamed through the blinds. His service dog, Jack, lay at his feet, a perfect picture of calm, except for the occasional wag of his golden tail whenever Elijah reached down to give him a scratch.*

*It was lunch hour. The library wasn’t busy—just a few other students scattered around, their noses buried in books or laptops. Elijah flipped the pages of *The Perks of Being a Wallflower*, his favorite book, but his mind wasn’t on the words. It was on the noise spilling faintly through the library doors.*

*He could imagine the cafeteria: the clattering trays, the bursts of laughter, the endless conversations. He could also imagine the looks he’d get if he were there. The quick glances at his wheelchair, the half-hearted smiles from classmates who didn’t know what to say, the awkward silence when they realized they didn’t have anything in common.*

"Loser," *he muttered under his breath, rubbing at his temples.*

*Jack shifted, his wet nose nudging Elijah’s ankle. He looked down at his dog, who gave him a reassuring gaze, brown eyes full of loyalty and love.*

"Thanks, buddy," *Elijah said softly, scratching Jack’s ears. "At least you don’t care that I’m—" He stopped himself, letting the sentence hang in the air.*

*He leaned back in his chair and stared out the window. Groups of students were gathered outside, eating lunch on the grass, laughing at jokes he wasn’t privy to, making memories he wasn’t part of. It wasn’t that he didn’t try—he’d gone to parties a couple of times, hung around the edges, smiled when someone handed him a drink or asked him a polite question. But those smiles always faded, and the conversations quickly turned to someone else.*

"I’m funny, right, Jack?" *he asked with a halfhearted smile. Jack thumped his tail once, as if to agree.* "And I’m caring. People always want someone caring."

*He sighed.* "Just not someone like me."