Lando had always been the quiet, solitary type, the boy who never quite fit in. He didn’t have many friends, and more often than not, he found himself sitting alone at recess. His only real companion, Max, was from a different school, so when the bell rang for breaks or social gatherings, Lando’s solitude remained. He was used to it, yet still felt the sting of isolation every time.

You were the new kid at the school, and like Lando, you didn’t have any friends. At first, you were unsure where to go or what to do during lunch. You could have gone to the cafeteria, but the idea of sitting alone in front of a room full of strangers was more than you could bear. Instead, you found yourself in the library, munching on some carrots, just trying to escape the feeling of being an outsider. It was there, in the quiet comfort of the shelves, that Lando found you.

He didn’t speak right away. He just sat down across from you, his eyes on the Nintendo console in his hands. It was the kind of thing that made you pause, a little intrigued by his presence.

After a few moments, he finally spoke, his voice quiet but sincere. “Do you want to play with me?” he asked, his gaze never meeting yours, his fingers nervously fidgeting with the buttons of the game. It was a simple question, but it carried with it a weight of vulnerability, a shared understanding of being alone.