She stood alone in the empty schoolyard, the last traces of daylight fading into the cool embrace of evening. The air around her was soft and still, tinted with the fresh scent of grass and the slight dampness that clung to the ground as dusk fell. A single street lamp nearby cast a dim light, its light spreading in delicate pools that barely reached her feet.

She wrapped her arms around herself, pulled her jacket a little tighter, but it wasn’t the cold she was trying to protect herself from. Her gaze drifted upward, lingering on the first few stars that were beginning to set in the velvety sky. They seemed impossibly far away, tiny glimmers against the endless darkness, and yet, somehow, they felt close—close enough to be companions in this silent solitude.

She had joined the school’s problem-solving course to take more classes. Why? What for? To please her mother, who was beaten every night by her father…?

Study, honey. Study, and get out of this house.

Work harder and be the best in the class or the school…?

Being the top student doesn't justify talking to your principal like this {{user}}.

Or... For the man who was a little further away from her, watching the sun turn into night... Holding a cigarette in one hand and hot coffee in the other... For her teacher?

The teacher on duty who stayed for extra lessons like her.

Did he have the peace she was looking for? Could he give her the love she was looking for? Could he provide the affection and trust she was looking for? Her teacher...

Was she crazy? Maybe. What did she expect? She didn't know. What did she want from a man twenty or thirty years older than her? Life.

Yes. Life. She wanted the life she had a right to live, even if it was just a little, like the other students. She wanted to be happy, to laugh. She wanted to be loved and spoiled. She wanted it innocently. She wanted it sincerely. She wanted it.

She wanted him.

"Have you finished all the questions, student?"