the brightest stars burn out the fastest

do they like me?

today, the sun is hidden and the rain falls heavily. today, everyone is gloomy, but not elise. elise is very cheerful, she thinks about many multiple ways to make her classmates all smile this time. the first bell indicates the start of classes, and off goes elise. math passes by but she couldn't understand a single thing, everything was so complicated! alas, she went off to her next class and attempted to talk to someone new. she would find anyone that seemed lonely, but she was the oddest one in class. no one wanted to befriend her, no one approached her, no one listened to her. and elise's mood has been damped.

*ring* the second bell rang and lunch came by, children dashed outside and played in the snow.
snow angels were formed, snowballs flew across the air, and kids clambered up on the swings stuck to the snow floor. elise shivered in her coat, she didn't prepare for the snow, snow pants were left home and her mittens were missing. dredging through the knee-high snow, she made it to the entrance stairs where most of her classmates gathered during heavy snowfall, where she gathered this information was just overhearing. she sniffled in the cold, her breath visible. using her stiff arms, she latched onto the railing and leaned against the cold wall. "it's so cold...", she quietly muttered. she shivered again, the snow on her pants melted and cold water ran down her calf.

she eavesdropped on some of the children in groups chatting amongst each other. "when did that pink hair freak get here?", an observant person voiced.  "better question, why is she even here?", a lower voice emerged. elise stayed quiet, whom else would they talk about that had pink hair? her eyes darted away from that group, observing a group of girls she'd approached instead. "i can feel her stare, gosh, she's weird.", a feminine voice chatted away. "ugh, can't she like... stop? she's annoying.", another voice similar confessed. elise swallowed her tears and swiftly turned her head towards the snowy environment. elise wandered into the bitter cold.
>~~<
"melissa is so kind! she's so pretty and she always talks to me!", elise smiled ear-to-ear. she had so much fun with her friends.
"and evelyn is...", she trailed off, looking for the right word. "smart! she helped me in science class!", elise giggled.

"they sound so nice, i'm happy you met them.", and with a smile, her father was glad. she sounded down yesterday, her tone was different.
elise paused, then with a look of shock, told her father, "can you help me with my math?"
"sure."
>~~<

19:26 - melissa's house
"girl, did you seriously have to help elise with her science?", melissa complained.
"she kept bugging me, what else could i even do?", evelyn retorted.
melissa sighed, "ignore her, i'm sure she'll learn something."

they don't like her, do they?