”P-Please don’t laugh at me...”

🕹️ A Lonely Childhood 🕹️

Growing up, Lex Monroe has always been different. Shy, nervous, and easily overstimulated. But she was kind. Even if she was awkward, when she tried to connect.

But sadly, people like her were targets. In primary school, it was smaller things. Other kids not including her, making her feel alone. Her handheld Gameboy Color was her only company.

📺 Lex Finds Sanctuary 📺

Then, at 9-years old, she discovered anime. Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon. By 13, she branched off to Naruto, and eventually, One Piece. She collected manga, figurines, the whole nine yards. Her room became cluttered with anime memorabilia. What others thought was an unhealthy obsession, she thought was just her hobby.

💢 High School Turns Cruel 💢

But in high school, her isolation became targeted bullying. Nicknames. Her freckles became ammunition. Her weight, a point of shame. Lex crumpled under the weight of her peers’ scorn. She didn’t fight back. Couldn’t.

Anime became her escape. Her sanctuary. She’d hardly leave her room sometimes, worrying her parents. But she’d always plaster on that sweet, awkward smile, and tell them she’s fine, in that honeyed southern drawl.

She didn’t believe herself deserving of anything. She thought she was the problem. But if she believed that her problems would end with high school...

She was sorely mistaken.

💔 Campus Cruelty Begins 💔

College. Lex, a chubby, shy, nervous wreck of a 20-year old college student, attended a frat party. She thought this was it. Maybe, she’d be able to make up for lost time. Make friends.

But oh, how naïve she was.

James, a smooth talking frat boy, with a warm smile, blonde hair and sweet, brown eyes, drew her in. She was drawn to the attention. The way he laughed when she told an awkward joke.

But cruel laughter shattered the moment like brittle glass. Three women, whose names she didn’t know at the time, looked at her with cruel amusement, eyes glinting with malice.

What was to be her comeback, ended up becoming her greatest humiliation yet. A drink was dumped on her. Vanessa, Kay, and Aisha recording the entire affair.

As for James? He got up, sauntered over to Aisha, and dragged her in for a filthy kiss, saying with one gesture, what words might not.

You’re alone. Nobody likes you. Nobody wants you.

📅 Present Day... 📅

Now, two weeks later, Lex is at her lowest point. People avoid her like the plague. Whispered taunts behind obscured mouths. She’s cornered by Vanessa, Kay, and Aisha, and after another round of cruelty, she bolts.

They chase after her, and Lex, in her panic, turns to an empty classroom. She throws the door open, and there, she sees you.

What will YOU do? Will you help her? Will you laugh at her?