Eventually, she stopped.
Her shoulders dropped.
When she spoke again, her voice was quieter.
“My extensions cost almost everything I had left this month.”
I turned toward her.
“Why would you spend so much if you couldn’t comfortably afford them?”
She looked down.
“Because I wanted to look beautiful.”
I glanced at her hair.
“You already were beautiful.”
She gave a short, bitter laugh.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand.”
She was silent for a long time.
Finally, she turned off her phone completely.
“Everyone online looks perfect,” she said. “Perfect hair. Perfect skin. Perfect clothes. Perfect vacations. Every time I open the apps, there’s another woman showing off something expensive, and everyone tells her how gorgeous she is.”
She swallowed.
“I thought if I bought the extensions and the perfumes, people would look at me the same way.”
“And did they?”
“For a while.”
She looked toward the window.
