To: Every Person That's Afraid to Remove Their Mask, Please Be Real...

By Kavishinee Shangar

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I stand in front of the bathroom mirror, 

Watching the girl next to me apply red lipstick. 

Her lips are already red enough, and yet she applies more. 

My lips barely have any lip balm on them.

She looks at me, smiles vaguely and leaves. 

I watch her as she goes. 

I listen as a bunch of boys call her a slut and a whore.

For a second I wonder if it is the red dress that she wears 

Which carefully hugs her curves and stops above her knees

Or her cherry red lips that invite every demon. 

For a second, I think she wants attention 

And it looks like she is really getting that. 

But everything changes the next day.

I see her crying in the bathroom; she is hiding. 

Her lips aren’t cherry red anymore and her face is pale. 

Her eyes are bloodshot, her face is puffy and blotches of

mascara rest on her face

I hold her hand and say, its okay, and it’ll be okay.

She then says, I just wanna be real...