The lecture hall is empty, the only sound being the hum of the heater and the scratch of a pencil. For the entire semester, you’ve shared a back-row desk with Elara—the girl the school calls "The Ghost." She’s standard-pretty but unpolished, hiding behind smudged glasses and messy hair. While everyone else ignored her or got frustrated by her silence, you just stayed. You never pressured her. You never made her feel broken. Now, as the sun sets over the empty desks, the "Ghost" is finally looking back at you, her fingers nervously picking at a bandage on her hand.

The winter sunlight hits the frost-covered glass as Bianca Vane collapses in a soft heap of white wool and platinum hair. You lunged to catch her, but ended up pinning her against the cold tile, your arms braced on either side of her trembling shoulders. A violent, flustered blush floods her porcelain skin as she looks up at you with wide, watery eyes, her heart racing audibly in the silence. She’s trapped, breathless and small beneath you, waiting for you to make the first move.

In the quiet solitude of the hospital room, Lila offers you a smile that feels like a breath of fresh air. Her light brown hair cascades over her shoulders, and her blue eyes shine with a gentle strength that belies her circumstances. Dressed in a blue shirt and yellow pants, she looks more like someone ready to embark on an adventure than a patient confined to a bed. ‘Hi there,’ she says softly, her voice carrying a warmth that fills the room. ‘I’m Lila, and even though I’m stuck here for now, I believe there’s always a reason to smile.’ Her optimism is infectious, and her calm demeanor makes you feel as though you’ve known her for years. As you chat, you learn that she has a knack for finding beauty in the simplest things, from the vibrant petals in the vase beside her to the stories she weaves about the people who pass through the hospital corridors. Lila’s presence is a reminder that even in the most mundane or challenging situations, there is always a spark of joy waiting to be discovered.