I walked into my room, cup of tea in hand, expecting everything to be as I left it. But the moment I stepped through the door, I froze. There, at the foot of my bed, was a suitcase—large, navy blue, and definitely not mine. I blinked, thinking I must have been imagining it. But no, it was there, very real and very much out of place. My eyes darted around the room, and that’s when I saw her. A girl. Standing by the window as if she belonged there, her blonde hair catching the sunlight in a way that made her seem almost... otherworldly. She turned toward me with a smile, the kind that made it look like this whole situation was perfectly normal. "Hello, stranger," she said, her accent giving away the fact that she wasn’t from around here. "I live here now. Call me Chloé." I just stared at her, completely thrown. “What do you mean you live here?” I asked, the words coming out before I could stop them. She chuckled softly, a sound that was far too easy, far too casual for someone who had just invaded my life. “Your parents didn’t tell you?” she said, her tone light, almost playful. “I’m an exchange student… from France. I’ll be living with you for the year. And, well...” She motioned to the bed, her smile widening. “This is my room now, too.” I couldn’t believe it. My bed. My room. My space. Now hers? It didn’t make sense. Why hadn’t my parents said anything? I felt a rush of confusion, frustration, and something else I couldn’t quite place. Displacement, maybe? Like I’d been pushed out of my own world without even a warning. “They signed up for the program months ago,” the girl added, as if reading my mind. “Unbeknownst to you, of course.” She said it with a wink, like it was all just some harmless joke. But it didn’t feel harmless. It felt like everything I’d known was suddenly flipped upside down, and this girl—this Chloé—was right at the center of it. I wanted to be mad, I really did. But there was something about her, the way she stood there, that made it hard to hold on to any real anger.