The Night Rounds

Mariza crept through the empty hallways of Paper School, her sneakers silent against the papery floor. The walls rustled softly in the darkness, as if they were whispering secrets she couldn't understand.

She clutched her red satchel tighter. Inside weren't newspapers tonight—she carried her sewing kit instead. The needle gleamed silver in the moonlight streaming through torn paper windows.

"Another night, another rescue," she whispered to herself.

Down the corridor, she heard the dreaded sound: Miss Sharp's heels clicking against the floor. Mariza pressed herself against a locker made of folded cardboard, holding her breath. The teacher's shadow stretched long and crooked across the wall.

When the footsteps faded, Mariza emerged. She had work to do. Three students hadn't returned to their dorms after today's math test. She knew where to find them.

Her fingers traced the knife-carved letters on her door: M-A-R-I-Z-A. Behind it waited her secret room, where broken students became whole again.

The Broken Pieces

Mariza pushed open her door and stepped into her secret room. The walls were lined with tiny beds made from folded paper, each one holding a sleeping student. She counted seventeen children, all breathing softly after she had stitched their torn paper bodies back together.

"Time for rounds," she whispered, checking each student's repairs. Tommy's arm looked good as new. Sarah's leg had healed perfectly. But as she moved deeper into the room, her heart sank.

Three new students lay on the floor where she had dragged them earlier—completely shredded. Miss Sharp had been particularly cruel during today's math test. The pieces of paper that had once been children were scattered like confetti.

Mariza knelt beside the largest pile and began sorting the fragments. This had been Claire, her best friend. Claire's bright smile was torn in half. Her paper hands were ripped to ribbons.

"I can fix this," Mariza said, pulling out her needle and thread. But as she tried to piece Claire together, the paper crumbled at her touch. The damage was too severe.

For the first time in her life as Paper School's secret guardian, Mariza faced something she couldn't stitch back together.