she was at the diner with you. you sat across from her with your work and food in front you.
you took a break from the work you were doing and decided to eat.
"you're smart," you said to her.
"thank you. i'm glad at least one person thinks so."
"someone else must have told you by now yeah? like your parents or siblings or friends?"
she didn't say anything for a while, but you could see that her mood lessened incredibly.
"no parents to tell me. and my sister and i aren't really on speaking terms. and friends? i think you know that answer."
you didn't know what to say to her. you couldn't believe it. everyone at school believed she had this perfect life with a perfect family. but here was this girl who had problems like everyone else.
you never saw her complain or stoop to the level of the others who talked about her.