Olivia stood at the entrance and her appearance was completely different from usual. She had a depressed look on her face and her eyes were red. Her clothes were in disorder and the same could be said about her hair. She was looking at the ground, not even noticing that her whole family was staring at her. Their mother didn't care about any of that, however, and ran to her to take her into her arms.
"My baby! Thank goodness you are safe! I was worried, I was so worried!"
Olivia let herself get hugged lifelessly, looking up at her mother with a very gloomy face.
"Mom..."
After a few seconds, she extracted herself from her mother and said.
"Sorry, Mom. I want to be alone for now."
She then slowly went up the stairs and disappeared from their sight. They heard the door of her room opening and closing soon after, leaving the rest of the family to stand in silence, bewildered. They looked at each other with the same questions in their minds until their mother broke the silence.
"What do you think happened?"
Nova answered her.
"Judging by the circumstances, most likely something happened at school or on her way home."
Grace thought about it and gave her opinion.
"Probably at school. She wouldn't be so depressed in case of an altercation with some stranger. And this is a quiet neighborhood, it's pretty safe from her school to here."
Her grandmother spoke for the first time.
"Probably bullying. I have seen a lot of that back in my time."
The conclusion angered their mother.
"What!? Who would dare bully my daughter? I will contact the school and ask for the culprit to be punished."
Nova hurriedly stopped her.
"Wait, Mom. We don't know what happened for sure. We need to know the exact circumstances first."
Their mother frowned but eventually nodded reluctantly. Benjamin took over.
"Let me try to talk with her."
They all agreed with that suggestion, believing that he was the best candidate for the task. If anyone had a chance, it would either be their mother or him. With their mother being rejected just before, it was naturally his turn to try now. Under the eyes of the five remaining women, he headed toward the stairs. He went up and knocked on Olivia's door.
He waited for a while but there was no answer from inside. He knocked again and added three words.
"It's me."
There was still only silence greeting him for a long time until the door finally opened. Olivia looked as downhearted as before and asked him in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.
"What?"
"Can I come in?"
She hesitated for a long time before eventually nodding. She headed to her bed and sat there, her gaze staying on the ground. It was a hard sight to see his sister looking so hurt and he resolved to try to help her in any way he could. He entered her room and closed the door behind him. He then followed her to her bed and sat next to her with a small distance between them. He wanted to ask what happened but she didn't look like to be in the right state of mind to talk. Changing his mind, he did the only thing he could think of. He turned toward her and opened his arms wide.
"Come, darling."
She looked up and saw his posture. She didn't react immediately but after some time, she started to tear up. When this happened, she suddenly jumped in his arms, buried her head into his chest, and started to cry loudly.
He put one hand on her head to caress her hair and the other on her back, patting her comfortingly. Olivia was inconsolable and wept for a long time, sobbing and bawling. He didn't know what happened to her but it must have hurt her deeply. She was a very sensitive child and that was why she liked staying at home and playing games. As a quiet and timid girl, she had a hard time making friends and it was not easy for others to emphasize with her.
After several tens of minutes, she cried herself to sleep in his arms. He delicately tucked her inside her bed and waited next to her. He still needed to hear the circumstances that made her so sad and see if there was anything that could be done about it. She slept for about an hour and woke up slowly. She looked somewhat better than before and when she realized that he was still there, she blushed a little.
"Sorry about that, Ben."
"Don't be. It's good to cry when you are upset. How are you feeling now?"
"A little bit better."
"That's good. Say... Can you tell me what happened?"
She frowned and got lost in her thoughts for some time. Eventually, she nodded.
"Okay. When I came to school this morning, I was still excited about ranking up on Campmonth on Saturday. Perhaps because they saw me like this, one of the most popular girls in my class asked me about it, even though she normally never talks to me. I told her and her group of friends about ranking up on Campmonth and that I was now Platinum ranked. But when they heard that, they looked at me weirdly and started to laugh at me. After that, they began saying I was a kid to be still playing games at our age. They all started to insult me, saying I was a nerd, a virgin, and a no-life gamer. I don't know why they said that and I was upset but I didn't know what to do. I was alone and they were four. And all the others in my class just looked away or didn't care about what was happening. After that, the teacher came and they stopped mocking me to go back to their seats."
She now looked even sadder and continued.
Olivia stood at the entrance and her appearance was completely different from usual. She had a depressed look on her face and her eyes were red. Her clothes were in disorder and the same could be said about her hair. She was looking at the ground, not even noticing that her whole family was staring at her. Their mother didn't care about any of that, however, and ran to her to take her into her arms.
"My baby! Thank goodness you are safe! I was worried, I was so worried!"
Olivia let herself get hugged lifelessly, looking up at her mother with a very gloomy face.
"Mom..."
After a few seconds, she extracted herself from her mother and said.
"Sorry, Mom. I want to be alone for now."
She then slowly went up the stairs and disappeared from their sight. They heard the door of her room opening and closing soon after, leaving the rest of the family to stand in silence, bewildered. They looked at each other with the same questions in their minds until their mother broke the silence.
"What do you think happened?"
Nova answered her.
"Judging by the circumstances, most likely something happened at school or on her way home."
Grace thought about it and gave her opinion.
"Probably at school. She wouldn't be so depressed in case of an altercation with some stranger. And this is a quiet neighborhood, it's pretty safe from her school to here."
Her grandmother spoke for the first time.
"Probably bullying. I have seen a lot of that back in my time."
The conclusion angered their mother.
"What!? Who would dare bully my daughter? I will contact the school and ask for the culprit to be punished."
Nova hurriedly stopped her.
"Wait, Mom. We don't know what happened for sure. We need to know the exact circumstances first."
Their mother frowned but eventually nodded reluctantly. Benjamin took over.
"Let me try to talk with her."
They all agreed with that suggestion, believing that he was the best candidate for the task. If anyone had a chance, it would either be their mother or him. With their mother being rejected just before, it was naturally his turn to try now. Under the eyes of the five remaining women, he headed toward the stairs. He went up and knocked on Olivia's door.
He waited for a while but there was no answer from inside. He knocked again and added three words.
"It's me."
There was still only silence greeting him for a long time until the door finally opened. Olivia looked as downhearted as before and asked him in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.
"What?"
"Can I come in?"
She hesitated for a long time before eventually nodding. She headed to her bed and sat there, her gaze staying on the ground. It was a hard sight to see his sister looking so hurt and he resolved to try to help her in any way he could. He entered her room and closed the door behind him. He then followed her to her bed and sat next to her with a small distance between them. He wanted to ask what happened but she didn't look like to be in the right state of mind to talk. Changing his mind, he did the only thing he could think of. He turned toward her and opened his arms wide.
"Come, darling."
She looked up and saw his posture. She didn't react immediately but after some time, she started to tear up. When this happened, she suddenly jumped in his arms, buried her head into his chest, and started to cry loudly.
He put one hand on her head to caress her hair and the other on her back, patting her comfortingly. Olivia was inconsolable and wept for a long time, sobbing and bawling. He didn't know what happened to her but it must have hurt her deeply. She was a very sensitive child and that was why she liked staying at home and playing games. As a quiet and timid girl, she had a hard time making friends and it was not easy for others to emphasize with her.
After several tens of minutes, she cried herself to sleep in his arms. He delicately tucked her inside her bed and waited next to her. He still needed to hear the circumstances that made her so sad and see if there was anything that could be done about it. She slept for about an hour and woke up slowly. She looked somewhat better than before and when she realized that he was still there, she blushed a little.
"Sorry about that, Ben."
"Don't be. It's good to cry when you are upset. How are you feeling now?"
"A little bit better."
"That's good. Say... Can you tell me what happened?"
She frowned and got lost in her thoughts for some time. Eventually, she nodded.
"Okay. When I came to school this morning, I was still excited about ranking up on Campmonth on Saturday. Perhaps because they saw me like this, one of the most popular girls in my class asked me about it, even though she normally never talks to me. I told her and her group of friends about ranking up on Campmonth and that I was now Platinum ranked. But when they heard that, they looked at me weirdly and started to laugh at me. After that, they began saying I was a kid to be still playing games at our age. They all started to insult me, saying I was a nerd, a virgin, and a no-life gamer. I don't know why they said that and I was upset but I didn't know what to do. I was alone and they were four. And all the others in my class just looked away or didn't care about what was happening. After that, the teacher came and they stopped mocking me to go back to their seats."
She now looked even sadder and continued.
