Love is Pain

Invisible in the crowd

Days passed, and although the little episode of that morning seemed far away, something was changing. Luke and his friends did not seem to have forgotten him, on the contrary. Whenever Jane passed by, she felt eyes on her. The comments, whispered with the intention of being noticed, began to multiply.

One day during her physical education class, Jane was preparing for her warm-up. As she laced her shoes, she heard laughter coming from behind her. " Oh, look, little Jane, all alone," said Luke, joining his voice to the others. "Aren't you ashamed? You make it sound so difficult."

Jane felt paralyzed, like she was the protagonist of a nightmare. Her mind ran fast, but words did not come out. Andrea looked at her from afar, but could not get close in time. All eyes were on her.

And it wasn't just Luca. Other voices were added, as the usual group of boys who laughed and commented aloud. Sometimes the PE teacher tried to keep things under control, but it seemed that these kids always found a way to make themselves heard.

The lesson continued, but Jane could not concentrate. Every movement seemed to be observed, and the fear of making mistakes made her feel more and more insecure. At the end of the lesson, as he was changing, he heard someone clapping his foot against his purse. He turned around and saw Luke smiling maliciously.

"I thought you'd forgotten something," he said, as he walked away laughing with his friends.

Jane looked at her bag on the ground and for a moment all she felt was emptiness. She felt ridiculous, as if she were everyone's target. When he came out of the gym, he tried to look the other way, but when he met Andrea, his face spoke for itself.

"What's the matter, Jane?" asked Andrea, worried.

Jane shrugged. "Nothing," he replied, trying to mask the pain with a smile. "Just... some idiot."