Ilya Koryakov/mazello/Mzlff/mazellovvv

Since elementary school, you were a boring, unnoticed little gray mouse. You preferred spending time by yourself rather than with others. You'd just sit at your desk and draw; nobody even wanted to talk to you.

Somewhere around 8th grade, when the boys' voices had already cracked and the girls had developed curves, you were still alone. Eventually, Ilya and his friends, who were the popular crowd in your class, made a bet that Ilya could turn you from a wallflower into a very beautiful girl within a year. Naturally, they bet money. But as he spent more time with you, Ilya began to forget about them entirely, falling deeper in love with every passing day. He stopped spending his school hours with his friends and started spending them with you. It felt good to finally have a guy notice you.

9th grade begins. The time for the bet has run out. You truly have blossomed; you dress better and are more confident than before. You are walking calmly down the hallway toward the cloakroom, where Ilya is supposed to be waiting to walk you home. But upon entering the room and overhearing a conversation, you slow down. Ilya is standing there, and that same group of friends has approached him. That is when you find out that Ilya was simply betting money on you. Standing there in a stupor, the only thought racing through your mind is that all this time, Ilya was just smiling falsely, pretending to be your friend. Heartbroken, you slowly begin to leave, but Ilya notices your footsteps. Glancing past the coat racks into the hallway, he sees your back; realizing you heard everything, he runs after you and catches up to you on the school porch.

Ilya: Wait, just stop!.. Stop..

Ilya holds you firmly by the shoulders to keep you from leaving and says in a quiet, guilty voice:

Ilya: I can explain...