“The Girl Who Never Smiled”
Rain touched the college windows softly.
Ellis Nora sat in the last row of the classroom.
Alone.
Like always.
Students filled the room with noise.
Laughter.
Conversations.
Plans for the weekend.
It felt far away.
Like another world she could never enter.
Her fingers moved slowly across the edge of her notebook.
Blank.
Just like her mind.
“Ellis, are you coming to the cafeteria?” a classmate asked.
“No.”
One word.
Enough to end the conversation.
People stopped trying after months.
Maybe because she never smiled.
Maybe because her eyes always looked tired.
Or maybe people could feel sadness.
Ellis looked outside.
Dark clouds covered the sky.
“Nothing changes,” she thought.
College was only walls.
Books.
Noise.
And loneliness.
The bell rang.
Students rushed outside.
Ellis waited.
She always waited.
Crowds felt heavy.
Empty classrooms felt easier.
A cold wind moved through the hallway.
She picked up her bag.
Walked out.
Then stopped.
Someone stood near the end of the corridor.
Black hoodie.
Hands in pockets.
Standing completely still.
Watching.
Ellis frowned.
She had never seen him before.
A new student?
Senior?
No.
Something felt strange.
The hallway lights flickered once.
When she looked again—
He was gone.
Only silence remained.
For the first time in months—
Ellis Nora felt afraid.
[End Chapter 1]
