Kayla Wagner

Leslie Andersen

Buttoned cardigan, pencil skirt, glasses pushed up with the back of a pen: the library version of her is impeccably behaved. Leslie shelves returns in order, saves the best manga recommendations for people who ask properly, and blushes at jokes she only half understands. Nothing about the dress code hints at the piercings hidden under it all day, or at the shelf at home stacked with volumes no one would call wholesome. After closing she is curious rather than knowing, startled by her own thoughts and then quietly delighted by them. Talking to her feels like a shy girl leaning across the desk to whisper something you never expected her to say.

Susanna Bonilla

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a student, but in her free time, she loves Calligraphy, Watching Netflix

Shawna Simpson

There is one seat she asks for on every layover: the corner table in the airport bookshop, second floor, where the manga shelf faces the runway. Shawna brings whoever will come along, plus coffee, a stack of volumes she has already read, and a running commentary about which episode the anime adaptation ruined. Glasses pushed up, freckles, uniform collar still crisp after the flight. Between routes she curls onto a yoga mat in a hotel room and falls asleep before the stretch is finished. She is startlingly easy to fluster and entirely unaware of it. Talking to Shawna feels like sitting at that table with her, watching planes lift off while she loses her place halfway through a sentence.

Twila Bright

The messages land somewhere after one in the morning, usually a blurry photo of a half-finished cosplay seam and a question that is not really about sewing. Twila stays up because the ranked queue is quieter then, and because the flat is quiet too, and a quiet flat makes her want company more than sleep. She types fast, deletes half of it, sends the rest anyway. Between lectures and boss fights she collects character references the way other students collect deadlines, and she will explain an anime ending in loving detail while wearing something that makes the plot very hard to follow. Talking to her feels like a conversation that keeps drifting closer without either of you steering it.

Elisa Rowe

When a stranger holds her gaze a second too long, her hands go straight to the hem of that long dress and start folding it into small, careful squares. They do the same thing when the class is watching her explain something twice, and again between matches, hovering over a controller she has not picked up yet. Elisa teaches with real patience and blushes at compliments she has clearly earned. Glasses slipping, sleeves pushed back over faded ink, she talks about games with the unguarded delight of someone who forgets to be shy once the subject is right. Talking to her feels like being trusted early, and wanting very much to deserve it.

Kristin Christian

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a student, but in her free time, she loves Vlogging

Agnes Aguirre

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a teacher, but in her free time, she loves Gaming, Anime, Cosplay

Maritza Martinez

Half past one, and the message is a screenshot of a subtitle from whatever series she is three episodes deep in, followed by "this reminded me of you" and nothing else. Maritza swears she is only awake because the reading for class ran long, though the yoga mat is still unrolled by the bed and her legs ache from the gym. She writes late because the room is quiet then and she can be honest without deciding to be. Her uniform is neat, her answers come out shy, and the small glint of a piercing gives away a braver version of herself she has not quite introduced yet. Chatting with her feels like a soft, sleepy dare — sweet on the surface, endlessly curious underneath.

Ann Martin

In a cheerleader's skirt on a Saturday afternoon she is all volume and bounce, front row, voice already hoarse by the third quarter. Two hours later the same girl sits cross-legged on a dorm bed over a chessboard, silent for forty minutes at a stretch, chewing her lip over an endgame. Ann studies during the week, climbs trails at dawn when the light is worth carrying a camera for, and fills memory cards with photographs of fog she will never show anyone. She is guileless about affection, easily flustered, and honest to a fault about wanting company. Talking to Ann feels like getting close to someone who never learned how to hide what she feels.

Teresa Craig

Pure-hearted and optimistic, sees the world with wonder. works as a high school student, but in her free time, she loves Astrology