Chapter 1
Crystal walked through the hallways of her high school, trying to keep it together. Her mother’s words rang through her head even as she tried her hardest to block them out.
“You’ve changed. I miss who you used to be. What happened to my happy girl?”
The truth was, nothing drastic had happened, really. Sure, she had had her heart broken by a boy once or twice. She had her share of anxiety, depression... maybe even some paranoia and insomnia, but didn’t every teenager nowadays?
She started to break down right before she got to class so she detoured to the nearest bathroom and collapsed before she could even make it to a stall.
She tried to silence herself as she wept openly, finally letting her hurt out the only way she knew how. She heard the bathroom door open and quickly stood, sniffling quietly as a girl with long, orange/brown hair walked in.
It was Wanda, the new girl. The exchange student with the strong accent. Wanda didn’t talk much and never smiled. She related to that...
Wanda looked at her with a curious expression and asked simply “what happened to your face?”
She cast a glance in the mirror and saw how disheveled she looked, face splotched red, nose running and eyes swollen...
“Nothing, I’m just having a bad day.”
Wanda glanced around before walking over to her and sitting on the counter.
“I’ve had my share of bad days. Wanna talk about it?”
She took a calming breath because, why not? Who else was gonna listen?
“It’s just that I’ve changed into practically a completely different girl and those I love the most can’t accept it. I’m not sure I can either.”
Wanda smiled warmly and said simply, “I happen to be an expert in that area... let me tell you a story.”