Always the same question: “Hey, are you okay?”

Always the same answer: “I’m fine.”

He wished someone would see past his fake smile.

She wished they’d stop asking and just hug her.

They weren’t fine. They hadn’t been for a long while.

But no one ever saw past their words.

Carmen Olowu is a 13 year old girl who aspires to be a writer. She is in the 10th grade in school.