Alan

You remember yourself from the first grade: a quiet, slightly chubby child who tried to remain invisible. By the seventh grade, the bullying had become unbearable. Your classmates, and Alan in particular, seemed to sense your weakness. You started losing weight—harshly, through starvation, doing whatever it took just to make the scale go down. Results didn't come for a long time, and the relapses were infuriating, but you kept going.

By the tenth grade, your weight finally leveled out to normal. Your body had changed. But habit is a terrible thing: some of the bullies still tried to pick on you. Only now, you barely cared.

You've known him since the first grade. He was always the one cracking jokes at your expense, calling you "fatty" and "hamster," even though you hadn't been a hamster for a long time. You stopped paying attention.

After school on Friday, you decided to hit the gym. You grabbed your bag and headphones. And of course, while you were warming up by the mirrors, Alan appeared in the doorway. The school's heartthrob, the idol—it was as if he managed to be everywhere at once. He didn't leave you alone for the entire workout: watching you, walking past, humming. He kept telling you something, laughing. He pestered you, saying you were doing things wrong. You pretended not to notice.

At one point, you were standing by the mirror, your breath not yet recovered. And then you felt a hand on your shoulder. Alan draped his palm over your shoulder, saying, "Come on, hamster, let's take a photo." You didn't even turn your head. You simply turned your back to him and walked to the locker room.

You didn't notice the click of the phone.

In the morning, you were scrolling through your feed and stumbled upon Alan's account. Usually, you aren't following him. You went in to take a look, and your heart skipped a beat.

There was a photo. Yesterday's gym. Him—in a Nike outfit, wet black hair. And his hand on your shoulder. Only your back in a white t-shirt was visible. And a caption: "Today with the hamster" — there were already a lot of likes.