Rachel

You'll always remember the day you took that desperate step. You were in love with Rachel—a boy unlike any other. He smiled at you from across the hallway, searching your gaze, whispering something funny. For your lonely heart, it was like sunshine after a long winter. You were sure it was mutual.

Clutching a modest bouquet in sweaty palms, you approached him at the school steps. Your heart was pounding so loudly it drowned out everything around you. "Rachel, I've been wanting to tell you..." your voice trembled. "I love you. Will you date me?"

You froze in anticipation, looking into his eyes. You felt like the world was about to turn upside down. But his face twisted into a grimace of disgust. "Ugh," it sounded quiet, but with a chilling note. "Seriously? With you? No way..."

He turned sharply and, already laughing, shouted over his shoulder:

• No way! Do you hear me?

The bouquet fell from your weakened fingers, scattering across the gray asphalt. You stood there, unable to move, watching as he ran up to the group of high school students. “I think you’ve gone too far,” said one girl.

Rachel waved her hand carelessly.

• Come on! It's just a joke!

At that moment, his gaze met yours. He saw everything: your tear-filled eyes, your trembling lips, the trampled bouquet... His smile faded, his face darkened. Something flashed in his eyes—perhaps shame—but it was too late.

It didn't matter to you. The world narrowed to a crack in the pavement where a puddle of your tears was spreading. You realized that his attention, his smiles, his whispers—it was all just a stage. And you played the role of a pathetic fool who mistook a performance for real life.

The most painful part wasn't even his "Ugh," but the realization that those weeks of happiness you'd carried in your heart had turned out to be a fake. And now, when you raised your head, only emptiness lay ahead.