stars shine brightest in room 93 (halren/halsren/lausey?)

vii

tune: never going back again-fleetwood mac

Over the course of an hour, I had managed to teach Nicole six of my falsey constellations and her eyes haven't drooped once. You take someone and take something they enjoy or teach them something and their whole persona of the day can change.

She looks as happy as I've ever seen her and something about it makes me warm inside. I love to make people feel better. Even if it's just a little bit.

I've learned that Nicole has a very beautiful passion for life even if she doesn't show it all the time. The way her eyes light up at the littlest things―like the stars in the sky―is beyond me.

She turns to look at me after my long pause as I was pondering.

If you ever forget any, just make up your own." I finally speak up, turning my gaze to the stars once again. "That's the fun of it."

I turn to Nicole and she just shakes her head at me, an extremely faint smile gracing her lips.

"No what?" I ask, feigning offense.

"Not real constellations." She writes on her whiteboard and I scoff.

"Well, it's always fun to be creative." I defend myself. "I think mine are better anyway, less confusing."

She looks down, shaking her head at me again. I can still see the small smile playing on her lips, even with her effort to cover it.

"Why are you hiding your smile?" I ask, bending my head down in an attempt to see her face.

She has a nice smile. I can tell because even the small repressed one she's sporting now reaches her eyes.

She doesn't answer my question, though. She just continues to look downward, her hands coming up to cover her face.

"You shouldn't hide such a pretty smile, Nicole," I say, my hand resting on her shoulder gently. "Are you just not used to doing it?"

She shakes her head one last time, looking up at me reluctantly. Her usual pout etched onto her lips.

"Well, Nicole, I plan to make you smile much more often from now on." I place my hand on the crook of her neck, and she ducks her head down, a bad habit. "Everyone deserves someone to make them smile once in a while."

I watch her eyes travel from her lap to my hand, her teeth sinking down onto her lip.

I take this as discomfort and remove my hand, drawing it back into my lap, an apologetic look on my face.

"I'm sorry if this is hard for you Nicole," I sigh. "And I'm sorry for whatever has happened in your past. I'm sorry for the exhaustion. I'm sorry that you're sick." I list, in a soft tone. She seems to be ducking back into herself and right when we were making a bit of progress.

"And most of all, I'm sorry if I'm not helping." I give her a sigh. "But it's only my second day, and I will continue to come whenever you need me and attempt to pick up every piece of this puzzle." I continue. "That's the easy part."

"The hard part is putting them back together," I confess. "If they were ever together at all."

Nicole looks up at me now, her eyes yet again, with that burning, the peering. It almost feels as if we've met before.

She continues to gaze, her eyes darting to something in the corner. I turn to see a little, most likely fake pine tree. Shimmered with faux snow, and it's cute. It reminds me of Red Lake. It was always spotted with tall, aromatic pine trees. Them being hung with the natural decoration of snow, and twinkling stars peeping through.