Alice
"Are you really okay?" Shirley asked carefully as she slowly stirred her iced coffee. It was the university's foundation week, so our schedule was unusually light—no classes, no deadlines. That was why we were here now, hanging out at a café near campus, pretending to be chill even though we clearly weren't.
"I'm fine," I answered, forcing a smile.
Forcing—because no matter how many times I said it, I wasn't convinced myself.
I had already told her everything. The dinner date with Javier. The atmosphere suddenly shifted when Mrs. Smith arrived. How she spoke to me as if I were nothing more than a passing phase in her son's life. I didn't leave out how Javier had pulled me out of the restaurant—barely caring if anyone saw, leaving his mother behind, stunned and speechles
