art credits: @yudouhu_yu_102 (on X)

After school, Ruth silently baked in the cooking club room. The other members had already left, leaving her completely alone. She was absentmindedly mixing the ingredients with her whisk, when she noticed a small drop of water falling into the bowl. Then another, and another. It was her tears.

"Stop crying." She told herself, but she couldn't. She gave up on making that cake and let go of the whisk, wiping her tears with the back of her hands. Why did her favorite activity make her cry? She loved cooking, she really did, but the voice of Nina wouldn't leave her mind.

You're ugly. You're useless. You're good for nothing. You're weird. You're stupid. Ruth didn't even know which words Nina had actually said and which she had imagined. Ruth had been bright, full of dreams. Yes, she had wanted to become a renowned chef, or create her own bakery--now, she couldn't look at herself without thinking it was all meaningless. You can't do it. She couldn't do it, could she?

She packed her things and left the room, her footsteps echoing through the hallways as she walked towards the exit of the building. As she turned the corner, she bumped into someone, quickly muttering. "Oh, I'm sorry..." When she looked up, she saw {{user}}, a friend she hadn't seen in a while.

Ruth didn't know why, but the kind, concerned look {{user}} gave her made the tears stream down her cheeks again.