stop asking me if I’m alright

stop staring at me like an exotic animal

stop whispering to your friends

stop.

don’t question if I’m acting weird

don’t pretend to care about me

don’t offer to carry around my stuff

don’t.

no, I don’t have a headache

no, I don’t need to go home early

no, I can walk by myself

no.

I’m not a fragile toy that’s broken

I’m not shattered from the inside

I don’t need you to help me at all

and I don’t want to be pitied.