The day’s evening, the doctor entered Roselle’s hospital room with a warm smile. He carried a clipboard with her medical records.

  “Good news, Roselle. You’ve made a remarkable recovery thanks to those super cells of yours. I’d love to examihem further, but you’re all clear to go home if you’d like.”

  Roselle smiled. “Thank you, Doctor. I’m ready to go home a bay life!”

  The doctor nodded, making some final notes on the clipboard. “Very well, Roselle. We’ll prepare your discharge papers, and you’ll be on your way shortly.”

  Roselle, dressed and ready to leave, paused suddenly. She turned back to the doctor and inquired, “How is Risebelle? I heard she was brought iher day.”

  The doctor scratched his head, appearing slightly flustered. “Ah, Risebelle, that’s right. She’s uhe care of that rather sophisticated woman doctor. I’ll give you some dires. She’s quite selective, you see, and she only seems to like w with ‘really smart’ people.” He let out a long sigh.

  Roselle smiled at the doctor and said, “You know, Doctor, I think you’re really smart. Maybe you should give it another shot.” Roselle gave the doctor a wink.

  The doctor blushed slightly. ” We-h- haha...W- Well, I uh, I appreciate the vote of fidence…”

  Roselle gave him a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, Doctor. You’ve been a great help. Now, about those dires you mentioned...”

  The dave her a set of dires to help her find Risebelle’s doctor, and with that, Roselle was on her way.

  Roselle quietly ehe room where Risebelle was located during visiting hours. Her curiosity piqued when she spotted Jess sitting there. Roselle began to open her mouth to speak, but her words were caught ihroat wheiced Jess holding onto the unscious Risebelle.

  Roselle whispered to herself, “Not yet. I should let Jess be with Risebelle for now.” Roselle took a step bad quietly exited the room.

  Roselle arrived home after the day at the hospital. She was met with the warm and ed gaze of her mother, Mrs. Magenta. Her Mother had been worried sick about her daughter.Mrs. Magenta embraced her daughter tightly and spoke with relief. “Oh, Roselle, you had me so worried. But this nice young dy called Sadie came here and expined everything. I’m just gd you’re home safe.”

  Roselle replied, ” I didn’t mean to worry you mom. It’s just... things got really plicated....”

  Roselle returned her mother’s embrace, feeling the warmth and fort of her love. Roselle sat down with her mother and began to ret the events of the past day. She expined everything, from her intetle with Rosebelle to her hospitalization and the miraculous recovery due to her super cells. Mrs. Magenta listetentively with ing into her eyes.

  Mrs. Magenta suddenly shifted to a face of worry. “By the way, I haven’t been able to find Jess anywhere. I’ve been so ed about both of you. Have you seen her, Roselle?”

  Roselle hesitated for a moment. She remembered the image of Jess holding onto Risebelle. With this in mind, she replied, “I’m...not sure, Mom. I was more focused on my own recovery at the hospital. Maybe she’ll turn up soon.”

  Mrs. Magenta sighed and nodded. “Well, I hope she’s safe wherever she is. I’m just gd you’re home and well, Roselle.”

  Mrs. Magenta smiled warmly at Roselle and said, “By the way, I have a surprise for you, dear. It’s up in your room. I think you’ll like it.”

  Roselle’s curiosity iqued at the mention of a surprise. “A surprise? What is it, Mom? I ’t wait to see!”

  With a pyful aed glint in her eye, Mrs. Magenta urged Roselle to follow her upstairs to her room, where the awaited surprise would be revealed.

  Roselle and her mother entered her room. Roselle’s eyes widened when she saw her two friends, Michigo and Sarah, standing there with smiles on their faces.

  Michigo spoke first. “Heya, Roselle! We thought we’d e by and cheer you up. Everything is fine now with our little Detective’s club. o worry!”

  Sarah chimed in. “Yeah, and we have a little something for you to make you feel eveer!”

  With that, Michigo and Sarah revealed a braop that was sitting on Roselle’s desk. The ptop was adorned with a cute teddy bear theme, and it looked absolutely adorable to Roselle.

  Michigo grinned aured toward the ptop. “Ta-da! It’s your braop, Roselle, with a teddy bear theme! We thought it would be perfect for you, and we know you love teddy bears.”

  Roselle was moved to tears and excimed, “Oh, you guys!” She hugged them both tightly. “I love you both so much for this.”

  Michigo chuckled, patting Roselle on the back. “We love you too, Roselle. You deserve it.”

  Sarah joined in, her eyes sparkling with joy. “And now you finally watch all those cute bunny videos in style!”

  The three of them ughed together. Roselle’s mother smiled warmly and said, “You’re wele to stay the night, girls, but I know you have school tomorrow. It’s a school night after all.”

  Sarah nodded and pulled a small backpack from her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Magenta. repared for that. We’ve got our school stuff with us. We’ll cate rest before heading to school in the m.”

  Michigo chimed in. “Yeah, and we wao make sure Roselle was feelier first.”

  Roselle’s mother smiled. “That’s very sweet of you both. Well, make yourselves at home, and if you need anything, just let me know.“With that, Mrs. Magenta left the room.

  Roselle, Sarah, and Michigo settled into their pajamas, preparing for a night of rest of the night. That was when something suddenly struck Roselle. She snapped her fingers, and her friends turheir attention tuys, I just remembered something.”

  Sarah and Michigo exged curious gnces and questioned in unison. “What is it, Roselle?”

  Roselle hesitated for a moment, then said, “It’s about my friend Tina. You know, the one who disappeared for a while and then we found out she was forced into some really terrible stuff?”

  Both Sarah and Michigo nodded, recalling the heartbreaking story of Tina’s ordeal.

  Roselle took a deep breath and fessed, “Well, when I bumped into her a while ago, she fessed something to me. She... she said she loved me, and she gave me the address of a chatroom I was supposed to visit.”

  Sarah’s eyes widened in surprise. Then her cheeks flushed with curiosity. “Wait, slow it town, she told you she loved you? But you don’t mean the same way we do, do you...You mean more like, romantically, right? Did you... uh, wait...Did you kiss or something?” Sarah stammered.

  Roselle’s face turned a shade of pink. She sheepishly nodded. “Well, we did share a kiss… I think…”

  Sarah and Michigo gasped in unison. “What?!”

  Sarah’s eyes were wide with disbelief. “Why did you say ‘You think’? Did it happen or not?”

  Roselle took a deep breath and said, “It did. We did kiss.”

  Michigo, still processing the news, asked with , “So, what did you think about it? We’ve all been looking for Tina, and now this happens? What does it mean for you?”

  Roselle sighed. “It was… ued. I wasn’t sure what to think at first. Tina was in a bad pce, and I didn’t know how to react. But it felt real. I care about her deeply but um… I guess it does plicated things, doesn’t it?”

  Sarah’s pouted briefly but when Roselle looked her way, she forced a smile. “Well, it’s not like you could’ve known what would happen when you went looking for her. Tina’s been through a lot, and it’s really sweet that you were there for her during such a tough time. Besides, I guess I ’t really be mad at you for a kiss that happened when you and I were separated for a week, I?”

  Roselle caught Sarah’s use of the phrase “be mad.” She furrowed her brows slightly and asked, “Sarah, is there something you want to tell me?”

  Sarah forced a casual tone. “Oh, it’s nothing. I mean, it’s not like I have any reason to be upset.”

  Roselle wasn’t vinced. “e on, Sarah. It sounds like there’s something more to it. What’s going on?”

  Sarah sighed, her forced smile faltering. “Okay, fine. I guess… I guess I’m a little jealous. It’s just hard, you know? I thought we were really close, and now this happens. It’s silly….”

  Roselle sighed. “Sarah…”

  Sarah g Michigo, who gave her a knowing look. “Roselle’s already figured out what’s on your mind. You might as well say it here. I’m not going to spill anything, so go ahead.”

  Sarah took a deep breath a Roselle’s gaze. “It’s just… I guess I’m feeli out. You and Tina had this moment, and it feels like it came out of nowhere for me.”

  Roselle’s eyes widened slightly. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Sarah?”

  Sarah’s gaze dropped to her p. “Yeah, I guess so. We’ve bee friends for so long, and we were separated for a week, and now this is ugh...It’s like everything just hit me all at once.”

  Roselle took a moment to process Sarah’s fession, “Sarah… I had no idea you--”

  “Roselle… kiss me,” Sarah interrupted with her cheeks turning a shade of red.

  Roselle stared at Sarah in shock. Her mouth opened slightly. “Huh?” was all she could manage in her surprise.

  Sarah’s blush deepened, and she looked down. “Shiiiit.... I don’t know why I said that. It’s just how I’m feeling right now. You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”

  Michigo, watg from the side wore a goofy smile. When Roselle gnced over at her, Michigo gestured with a pyful “zippered lips” motion.

  Roselle looked back at Sarah. “Sarah... if you really want this, then I’m willing to try.”

  Roselle leaned in, and their lips met in a brief, sweet kiss. The moment was soft and tender, full of the emotions they had both been holding back.

  As Roselle and Sarah’s lips parted, Sarah’s face lit up with a radiant smile. “I finally did it, I kissed Roselle,” she said with excitement. She did a little victory dance.

  However, Sarah’s celebration tly interrupted when she remembered Michigo was still in the room. She froze mid-dance. Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red.

  Michigo, with a pyful grin, said, “That was a cute little dance, Sarah.”

  Roselle gave a bemused smile and said, “I don’t see what the big deal about that was....”

  Sarah took a few breaths and then shrugged slightly. “I’ve had a lot of things on my bucket list that I wondered would be fun to do with you, Roselle. That’s part of why I’ve been on this whole persona-ge kick tely. I thought maybe, if I could try out different sides of myself, it would make things more iing.”

  Roselle’s eyes twinkled with uanding. She recalled seeing Sarah’s many personas at school—the artistically ined Sarah who always had a paintbrush in hand, the sporty Sarah who was the star of every game in her own mind, and the dramatic Sarah who could turn any ordinary event into a theatrical performance.

  “Well, it definitely kept things iing,” Roselle said with a chuckle. “But I’m gd we had this moment. It feels like a step toward uanding each other better.”

  Sarah looked at Roselle with a touch of . “I hope I didn’t ruin anythiween us....This was just one silly persona...”

  Roselle shook her head. “No, Sarah. If anything, it did the opposite. I’ve learned a lot more about you today, and it’s made me uand you better.”

  Sarah face softened. “Alright, then. Now that we’ve got that sorted, you should focus on Tina. I know she’s important to you, and it sounds like there’s more to uhere.”

  Roselle nodded. “I’m going to take a look at the chatroom link she gave me to check, but I have no idea where it leads. It could be an adult chatroom or a kiddies’ pyground. We’ll just have to see.” She chuckled.

  Sarah shook her head. “ There’s no kiddies’ chatroom online, Roselle.”

  The chatroom opened with an adult-only discimer and a verificatio. Roselle bli the provocative usernames and the bar-like setting, feeling a bit out of pce. Despite her curiosity, she remairue to her username, entering as “StarlightSeeker27.”

  The chatroom was filled with various discussions and users engaging in versations, some more explicit than others.

  She began by typing a message in the general chat, hoping to get some guidance. “Hello, I’m new here. anyone point me in the right dire to find someone? I’m looking for a friend.”

  Naughtybunny99: Oh, hello there, StarlightSeeker27! How’s the carrot patch today? What this naughty bunny help you with, hun?

  Roselle was shocked by the unusual response. She decided to py along.

  StarlightSeeker27: Hi Naughtybunny99! My carrot patch is quite mysterious these days. I’m actually looking for a friend ina. We lost touch, and I’ve been trying to find her. Any ideas, bunny?

  Naughtybunny99: Oh, Tina, you say? Naughty bunny might have heard a little something. Tina’s been known to hop around the garden, you know. But you have to be extra careful in this jungle, my friend.

  StarlightSeeker27: Could you point me in the right dire, or do you know anyone else who might know more about her?

  Naughtybunny99: Could you be any more fortunate, darling? I knows just the wise owl you’re looking for. One who might have seen Tina fluttering by. Allow me to guide you to that feathered friend.

  Naughtybunny99 private messaged a username “WiseOwl67” to Roselle. Roselle clicked on their name and prepared to try ahem a private chat request.