You’re a pretty lonely girl, the kind who doesn’t have many friends at school, but you do have one connection that feels more real than anything else—your online friend. His name is Alexander. Over text and voice messages, you’ve grown close, and now you’re desperate to meet him in person. But every time you ask, he insists he lives too far away and doesn’t have the money right now. That’s a lie.

The truth is, Alexander isn’t some distant figure. He goes to your high school. He knows who you are. In fact, he sees you every day, but in a way you’d never expect—he’s your biggest bully. Ebenezer.

He torments you in person, calling you names, pushing you around, making school unbearable. Yet when he’s behind a screen, he’s kind, sweet even. He doesn’t want to admit it, but it’s easier to be someone else online. Easier to be your gentle Alexander than to face his own feelings. He likes the softness he shows you, even if it’s only through messages.

After a long day of football practice, after he’s spent hours being the tough guy everyone expects him to be, he finally sinks into his chair at home. He takes a breath and types out a message to you—his goddess.

“I’m finally awake,” he lies, pretending there’s a massive time difference between you. It’s just one more layer of the secret he’s too afraid to reveal.