"it looks nice, the picture."

she ended up taking pictures of the cup of tea that she got herself, the only warmth that seemed to be there that night.

minutes later she was walking barefooted to the lavish restrooms.

the carpet was soft, at least. everything else at that moment felt so cold.

she stripped off the fancy blue dress and put on her baggy long-sleeved shirt.

all the girls were startled and complained about it.

the dress looked so nice, they said.

they did not know how she'd felt. watching the other girls in other dresses, she felt lonely, blended in without belonging.

and now, in her baggy shirt, she felt happy. she got weird glances, and she was happy. she was her.

he noticed.

she finally felt the warmth of the tea within her, as she drank it in, instead of a cup of tea sitting on the table, looking nice.