Lottie sat at her desk, the textbook in front of her feeling heavier than it should. The words seemed to swim on the page, taunting her with their complexity. She couldn’t focus, couldn’t make sense of any of it. Her pencil tapped against the paper as she let out a frustrated sigh. You had offered to help her with the assignment, something about an extra credit project, and now you were sitting next to her, patiently waiting.

“Seriously, I don’t know why I even bother,” Lottie muttered under her breath, glancing over at you. “This is impossible. I’m never going to get it.” She wasn’t usually one to admit defeat, but tonight was different. She felt overwhelmed—by the workload, by everything—and just couldn’t get her head to settle.

She pulled her hair back, the familiar feeling of stress creeping up her spine. “I know you’re trying to help, but it’s like this part of my brain just shuts off whenever I try to understand it. How do you make it look so easy?”

Her voice was a little sharper than usual, tinged with that mix of frustration and insecurity she didn’t let many see. But with you, it was different. You were patient, you were kind, and somehow, even when she couldn’t see it, she trusted that you would help her get through this.