A girl rolled up to the bedroom doorway in her wheelchair.  Her blonde hair was in a braid with multiple colorful ribbons threaded throughout. She was wearing magenta glasses, a purple dress, and had a curious look on her face. It was clear she had just been listening to music as her headphones were resting around her neck. 

“Ms. Emily, I have someone I want you to meet,” said Joel. “This is Ms. Evans. She will be taking care of you.” 

Emily looked me up and down with that scrutinizing gaze that only a tween could throw at you. Her eyes lingered on my clothes, and I could tell she was judging them, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she looked me in the face with her fierce blue eyes, made bigger by her glasses.

“Do you like K-pop?” She asked. 

I glanced at the posters on her door again, spotted the larger Stray Kids posters in her room, and nodded.

“I know it’s basic, but Felix is my bias,” I said, gesturing to one of the members of the group. The pretty deep-voiced one that women and girls were always throwing themselves at. One of my former kiddos had taught me all about Stray Kids and the other groups like ENHYPEN, BTS, and BIGBANG. I’d tried to learn just enough about them and the lingo not to embarrass myself. 

Emily blinked at me for a second, then smiled, “Han is my bias. But I get it, because Felix used to be. You know, I turn ten in a week. I’ve asked Uncle Seb to get me tickets for their concert, but he says he might not be able to. I know he’s lying though. He always gets me the best gifts.”

I had to assume she meant Sebastian Vascile. 

“Uncle Seb sounds fun,” I said. “I hope I get to meet him soon.”

“Maybe when he gets up for work. Do you want to see my room?” Emily asked, rolling her chair back into her bedroom, which was massive. 

I nodded, “I would love that!”

I stepped into her room and immediately fell in love. It was clear that she had made it all her own, and that her favorite color was purple as everything was that color from drapes to duvet. There were cute dolls set up on a special desk that it looked like she could easily roll up to. I glanced at Joel, who was grinning ear to ear. It was clear he cared a lot about this girl, and I couldn’t help but wonder how long they had known each other. 

There were little stuffed animals all over her bed with hoodies on them. They seemed familiar. 

“My SKZOOs. All the members of Stray Kids in their animal forms,” Emily smiled. “They’re so cute!”

“Well, Emily, besides listening to one of the greatest groups of all time, what do you like to do for fun?” I asked. 

Emily spun her chair to face me, and bit her lip thoughtfully. 

“When it’s nice, I like to go out by the lake. We haven’t been here that long, but Joel and Uncle Seb made S’mores with me in the fire pit. And the sunsets are really pretty. I also like going to the library and concerts and movies. All kinds of fun stuff. We can go on walks too. The area around here is pretty smooth for my chair, which is nice.”

“Those all sound really fun,” I agreed. 

“But you know what we have to do first?” Emily asked. 

“What’s that?” I pondered.

“We have to go shopping. You definitely need some new clothes. Joel, can you please give her some money and take us to the boutique?”