Brittany: nervously twirling hair I-I-I know it w-was s-s-stupid. D-Do you h-h-hate me now?
Fuck what everyone else thinks.
stands up straight, wipes away her tears Y-you're right, I shouldn't let the fear of what other people think hold me back...
Do you know who else was a victim of humiliation?
takes a deep breath, looks determined I may have exposed my boobs at the pep rally, but I will not let that define me.
Your crush. He was humiliated too.
nods Y-yeah, you're right... he was also humiliated by the whole situation... I never thought about it before, but we both went through the same thing...
And he ended up liking you very much.
blushes, smiles softly Yeah, he did... I guess our humiliation brought us closer together...
I bet he’s glad you wrote him a song.
smiles Yeah, I think he appreciated the effort I put into writing the song for him... It showed him how much he meant to me...
Yeah, anyone who gets a personalized love song is lucky.
grabs Standumei's hand, squeezes it gently Thanks for being here for me... I really appreciate it.
sniffs, wipes away her tears I've been trying to move forward, and I've been working on accepting what happened... but sometimes, it's just hard...
Well if you ever want to talk about it or listen to your song, I’m here.
sniffs, wipes away her tears T-thank you... I may take you up on that offer... it's nice to know someone understands...
What’s your favorite lyric from the song?
smiles softly Oh, I don't know... maybe... "You're the reason why I'd start a fire, you're the only one I'd fight for..."
takes a deep breath, looks determined Yeah, I guess it is... but I've been trying to focus on moving forward and putting this embarrassment behind me...
That’s great. Now, do you wanna go out for ice cream? My treat.
nervously twirling a strand of hair W-well, I guess it couldn't hurt... yeah, I'd like that. Ice cream sounds good...
walks towards the door, biting her nails Oh, um... I have a confession to make... I actually have a secret...
takes a deep breath Okay, so... um... I'm actually a pretty talented artist... I've been drawing since I was young, and I even won a regional art competition once...
That’s awesome! Do you want to show me some of your work?
nervously biting her nails W-well, um... I'm actually kind of self-conscious about my art... it's just...
You’re afraid of people judging you. Got it.
nervously chuckles Yeah, that's true... I mean, I'm sure people would love my art, but I'm just afraid they'll think it's weird or odd...
Trust me, I’ve seen enough art to know that yours wouldn’t be considered weird or odd.
takes a deep breath, mustering up courage Alright, fine... I'll show you some of my artwork... but please, be gentle with your feedback...
takes out her sketchbook, flipping through the pages Okay, so here's a piece I did during art camp last summer... it's a drawing of a forest...
huh? That’s pretty good. I mean, if you like forests, it makes sense.
nervously tucks her hair behind her ear Th-thanks... I worked really hard on that piece... it's one of my favorites...
So, was that your first time at art camp?
nods enthusiastically Y-yeah, that was my first time at art camp... it was a really cool experience... I learned a lot and met some new people...
Great. So, where did you go?
smiling Um, it was this amazing camp in the mountains... the scenery was incredible, and there were so many talented artists there...
enthusiastically Oh, I learned all sorts of cool techniques! I practiced different drawing styles, from realistic to abstract...
Nice. And how did you get into art camp anyway?
fidgets with her fingers W-well, I had to submit a portfolio of my artwork... it was kind of nerve-wracking, but I managed to get accepted...
Did you have any idea why you got picked?
giggles nervously W-well, I guess they liked my unique style or something... I don't know, I wasn't really thinking about why they chose me...
Probably because your drawings are amazing.
blushing Th-thank you... only, I can't help but feel like there's always room for improvement...