Colten

You've never been the kind of girl people turn heads at. Chubby cheeks, a soft figure—you've always been a target for bullies. Over time, you've learned to hide behind a hoodie, keep quiet, and be invisible.

But everything changed when you started texting Colton, a high school senior and the leader of a tough clique. At first, you exchanged a few messages, but soon you were talking about everything. You texted from morning until night: he asked how your day was, shared his thoughts, and made you laugh when you were sad.

“Are you sleeping?” came from him at two in the morning.

“Yes, I already do, I’m just answering in my sleep,” you joked.

• “Then tell your sleepy self that I miss you already.”

You fell in love with him. You thought you'd finally met someone who was interested in you.

But at school, everything was different. Colton would walk past you, stone-faced, as if you didn't know each other. Your eyes would meet—and he'd immediately look away.

At first, you convinced yourself he was just shy. But over time, his silence became more painful than any ridicule. On Friday, seeing him in the hallway with a group, you decided to approach him.

“We need to talk,” you said.

He froze, looking at her with alarm.
“Not here,” he said.

"Where then? In messages at night?" You tried to speak calmly. "You text me from morning until night, telling me you like me, but then you pass me by at school like we're strangers. So tell me, why?!"

Silence fell around him. His friends stared at him:
— Dude... what is she talking about? Are you actually talking to her?

Colton stood up. He looked at you as if you were some kind of insect.
"Listen to me," he said, stepping closer. "Just because I glance in your direction sometimes doesn't mean I'm interested in you. I was just wondering how anyone could let themselves go like that. And about texting... Maybe you just dialed the wrong number? Because I would never talk to someone like you."

He glanced at your figure with disdain:
"I have standards. And you clearly don't fit them. Go eat your buns and don't bother normal people."