Evening stretched its soft arms over Aria Luna, casting golden-orange hues across the polished floors of the Rhythm Dorms. Harmony made their way down the quiet hallway, footsteps slow and minds weary from the grandeur of the welcome ceremony. 

Eluera reached for the doorknob to their dorm room, fingers hovering mid-air, when a sudden squeal of delight broke the silence. 

“No way!!” Cherry Blossom’s voice rang like the chime of pure joy. 

Harmony turned just in time to see Cherry and Fluffy practically bouncing toward them, dragging matching pastel suitcases behind them. Their vibrant energy seemed to fill the hallway with an unrestrained brightness. 

“You’re our neighbors?!” Cherry gasped, her eyes sparkling with excitement.  
“Right next door? OMG! This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!” 

“We’re gonna hear you practicing through the walls!” Fluffy added, her vivid blue eyes wide with playful enthusiasm.
“Should we do a secret knock code?” 

Catherine raised an eyebrow, amused.  
“What would that even sound like?” 

“Like this!”
Fluffy tapped out a quick rhythm on the hallway wall—tap tap, pause, tap-tap-tap—then struck a silly pose.

Eluera chuckled, the fatigue from the day melting away under the infectious energy of the two. 

Evelyn, ever composed, stepped forward with warm voice.  
“You two certainly don’t lack spirit.” 

Cherry beamed.
“We were hoping we’d be close to someone we knew, but being this close? It’s perfect!” 

Fluffy nodded fiercely.
“And we’ll cheer each other on—every rehearsal, every performance, every tiny meltdown over tangled strings or stuck zippers!” 

Catherine chuckled, folding her arms.  
“Aren’t you two adorable?” 

“We know!” both Sugarpetal girls said in perfect sync, striking twin peace signs. 

Their joy was effortless, a soothing balm to Harmony’s exhaustion.
It was like their laughter had the power to make the whole hallway lighter. 

“Let’s make this hallway the happiest place in the dorms,” Fluffy declared with a wide grin. 

“Deal,” Catherine said, holding out her fist.
Cherry and Fluffy eagerly bumped it, their enthusiasm contagious. 
 
— 

For a moment, the hallway lit up with laughter.
Cherry twirled Evelyn around without warning, and Fluffy handed out candy she’d smuggled in from the Crescendo Cafeteria. Even Eluera smiled—a soft, fleeting moment, but a smile all the same. 

With a chorus of giggles and promises to meet again soon, Cherry and Fluffy retreated to their room. 

Harmony entered theirs, and the cozy hush wrapped around them.
The air was cool, lavender-scented, and serene. For a moment, the grandeur of the welcome ceremony and Evergarden’s immense presence seemed distant, like echoes of a song fading away. 

Eluera settled on the couch, legs crossed, her gaze distant.
Her fingers lightly traced the armrest, her thoughts far away. 

Catherine flopped beside her, arms outstretched, she exhaled dramatically.
“Well, that was a lot. But... I think we made some good memories today.” 

Evelyn sat by the piano, her fingers brushing the keys idly, lost in thought.
The notes she played were soft, almost introspective. 

Eluera broke the silence first, her voice barely above a whisper, trembling at the edges.
“I... I’ve been thinking..."
"What if, someday... we have to face Evergarden?”

Her gaze dropped to the floor, and her fingers tightened slightly on the armrest.
“What if, we’re not ready...”

Catherine tilted her head back, a smirk tugging at her lips.
“Yeah. But here’s the thing. Evergarden must have started like us.”
“If they can reach that point from zero, that means we can too.” Her eyes burned with quiet determination.

Eluera looked at her, the faintest trace of a smile tugging at her lips.
“I... want to believe that.”
She lowered her gaze, fingers curling slightly in her lap.
“I just… I’m not sure if we have what it takes…”

Eluera's words hung heavy in the room, the silence stretching.
Evelyn’s fingers paused on the piano keys, the soft tapping of her nails reverberating in the quiet. 

And during the moment of stillness, three soft knocks echoed from the door. 

Eluera was the first to react.
Her gaze flickered toward the sound, instinctively rising to her feet. Her movements were fragile.

As she opened the door, a woman stood there, framed by the fading light of the evening.
She was dressed in long formal black dress, her long black hair cascaded over her shoulders, a commanding yet calm presence. Her blue eyes gleamed with quiet strength.

“Good evening, Harmony,” she said, her voice flowing smoothly, like a violin’s melody.  
“I’m Theresa D’Arlanne. Your new mentor.”