The hallway buzzed with students, lockers slamming, shoes scraping the floor, and laughter echoing through the long corridor. Adrien walked with his friends, nodding absently, but his mind wasn’t on their jokes. Something felt off, a subtle pull in the air, a quiet disturbance he couldn’t explain.

Then he heard it—a soft voice calling his name. Adrien froze. The voice was faint, almost like a whisper carried on the wind. Adrien turned sharply. Kendall. His friends noticed and laughed. "Bro, who are you staring at", one teased. "There’s nobody there." "She just called my name", Adrien said firmly, scanning the crowd." I swear she’s right there." The friends laughed louder, patting him on the back. "Man, you’re talking to thin air. Come on, let’s go." They walked off, still laughing, leaving Adrien alone amidst the noise of the hallway.

The world seemed to shift. The chatter faded, the footsteps grew distant, and the air felt colder. Adrien’s pulse quickened. "Kendall?" he whispered again, louder this time.

A figure appeared slowly, almost gliding above the floor. Her hair swayed slightly, though no wind touched her. Her pale face was calm, eyes filled with a strange mixture of sadness and hope. She looked alive, yet unreal, a presence that only he could sense. Adrien’s chest tightened. "Why can’t anyone else see you?" he asked, voice trembling slightly.

"Because they can’t", she said softly, stepping closer. Her eyes met his, and the hallway noise, the students, the laughter—they all seemed to fade into shadows around her.

Adrien swallowed hard. His mind raced, heart pounding. "Kendall… what do you mean?" Her gaze never wavered. Adrien, "I’m a ghost", she said quietly. "I’ve been waiting for someone who could see me… someone who could help me find peace."

Adrien’s friends’ laughter and voices were a distant memory now. He stared, unable to blink, unable to speak, realizing for the first time that the girl before him had no shadow, no reflection, and no connection to the world of the living. Only he could see her. Only he could hear her.

The hallway was full of life, yet for Adrien, it had become a place suspended between reality and something far darker. He felt the weight of responsibility pressing down on him, a pull into a world he didn’t understand but couldn’t ignore. And in that moment, Adrien knew his life had changed forever.