Terence

Laughter rang through the café, the smell of coffee and warm pastries filling the air. You were sitting in your usual group of friends. You were always the center of the group—you were bursting with joy. Among your beloved and valued friends, you seemed to shine. Every joke lightened the mood, making even the most serious of friends laugh. You couldn't find a better place than among your close friends. But one chance encounter with your friend turned your happiness upside down.

One day, one of your friends brought a new guy, Terence, to a get-together. At first, he seemed just as friendly and outgoing. Until you started noticing something odd. Gradually, your friends began ignoring you, inviting you less often, and Terence was always making jokes about you—and not in a good way. At first, the jokes were soft and rare, and you laughed, but then he began openly mocking you, and your friends seemed oblivious. You became a gray mouse in your own company, the one you'd built with your own hands. You weren't allowed to get a word in edgewise, and sometimes they even forgot you were there. You didn't understand what was happening.

At the next meeting, when you were finally called back two weeks later, you were sitting in the cafe, staring into your coffee cup. You didn't even try to join the conversation, knowing you'd be ignored anyway. You looked up and met Terence's gaze. He froze for a second, as if seeing you for the first time, but then he chuckled and tilted his head to the side.

• So, little mouse, have you finally decided to put in your two cents, which no one needs?