It had been a few weeks of being back in the school routine. Ellie’s excitement for the new year was slowly diminishing as the piles of homework and writing assignments that needed to be completed began to pile up on her desk. Through all of the business of life, she had begun to hang out with her friends less and less. She had such high hopes for the year but those quickly began to fade. Every day seemed to be the same, she would wake up go to school, then come home just to have homework pile up that needed to be completed. She would sulk in her room at night, alone in silence. Her thoughts were all that seemed to keep her company these days. She would get the occasional text from a friend with the typical, “Hey! How are you” or “How was your day?” Yet none of these conversations went any deeper, none of them scratched the surface which made her wonder if anyone cared. She didn’t care anymore about the random “hi, (smiley emoji)” texts. What she needed was a phone call and a real conversation that went past just small talk. She wanted someone to know her for who she is and care about every part of her emotions and thoughts.