It was Ariana Grande and her single, Focus, humming in my ears and containing all my attention to listening to the music. I was less conscious about how my classmates again were making fun of me. And more attentive to how the rhythm kept changing and how engrossing the song kept becoming with each passing second.

I was, as per the lyrics, focusing on her.

Miss I'm-so-fucking-cool of our class made a snappy comment about me. I don't know how I ignored it, but I did. I usually would've made a scene, being twice as mean and making the surrounding others automatically dislike me.

Thank God; it didn't come to that.

It would've been quite a scene. 

It was be-yourself hour in the cafeteria. Working with my two best friends on a presentation of ours and a project, I felt like I had someplace to belong. Someplace to feel at ease.

I ignored all the laughter intended for me. All. Of. It.

Today in two words: educational and successful.