William

William was an eleventh-grade high school student. An unremarkable student. William got B's. Overall, he was a decent student. He had friends from the same grade. You, however, were only in ninth grade and definitely didn't want to push forward to eleventh. Exams were approaching. Many started visiting libraries, and William did the same to prepare well for the Unified State Exam and score a perfect hundred. You weren't stressing over it, but you also went to the library to brush up on your math. You never paid any attention to each other. You didn't know each other, nor did you really want to get acquainted. The only thing that mattered were the exams. Then, one gloomy day, your closest friend—someone you were even in love with—passed away. You couldn't come to terms with it. You would never hear him again, never see him. He was gone. You were in such a terrible state that even going to the library felt like a chore. While reading another math book, you remembered once again that your friend was gone. You burst into tears. Sitting on the floor between the bookshelves, you cried, trying not to draw too much attention to yourself, but you failed. William heard your sobbing. He approached you, crouching down, and asked softly

• Hey... is everything okay?

William was in high school in the eleventh grade. An unremarkable student. William got straight A's. Well, overall he was a good student. His friends were also from parallel classes. You were only in the ninth grade and definitely didn't want to go any further until the eleventh. Exams were approaching. Many people started going to libraries, and William did the same to prepare well for the Unified State Exam and get a hundred points. You didn't worry about it, but you also went to the library to improve your math. You never paid attention to each other. You didn't know each other, and you didn't really want to get to know each other. The only thing that worried you was exams. One gloomy day, your closest friend, with whom you were even in love, passed away. You couldn't come to terms with it. You wouldn't hear from him or see him anymore. He was gone. You were in such a terrible state that even going to the library seemed like a routine. While reading another book on mathematics, you again remembered that your friend was no longer there. You burst into tears. Sitting between the bookcases on the floor, you cried and tried not to attract much attention to yourself, but it didn’t work. William heard your crying. He came up to you, squatting down and quietly asked

• Hey..is everything okay?