A month later, Leo stood at the front of his English class. His hands shook slightly as he started his presentation. The old voice whispered, They think you’re boring.

When he finished, the applause wasn't thunderous, but it was real. And as he sat back down, he didn't check his phone to hide. He looked in the hallway mirror and, for the first time in years, he didn't look for a flaw. He looked for a friend.

The activity asked him to write down one mean thing he said to himself that day. “I’m a failure because I didn’t make the varsity team,” he wrote.