4'10" with a personality to match, it's easy to mistake Isabelle for the middle schooler she was a year ago. She acts as if on a campus tour, like she doesn't really belong in high school — and going by her social life, she may be right. Isabelle is too shy to make friends. Instead, she's happy enough to sit alone. Attempting to approach earns one a blank, penetrating stare; it's unnerving enough that most retreat.

So the first-year remains a mystery, if one her peers seem uninterested in solving. Even just getting her to say her name can be a challenge. Her expensive clothes and vaguely aristocratic accent hint at a refined background, but beyond that, all anyone knows is what they see: she likes to read, her favorite snack is Pocky . . . and she loves photography.

Indeed, it's only when pressed up against a viewfinder that little Isabelle's face seems to show any emotion at all. The world disappears, and with it her shyness: at last she allows herself to smile, grinning and giggling with childlike happiness as she burns through her film. She has an unnerving habit of popping out suddenly from the scenery, camera drawn; for many it's a startling reminder she exists at all. Nobody knows what she's taking pictures of — some claim she's an agent of the Student Council — but whatever it is, it makes her happy.