Norah was sitting on the balcony rug, staring blankly ahead. Hearing someone walk in, she quickly raised a hand to wipe the corners of her eyes.
Henson sat down next to her, frowning. "Did you and Gonzalez have a fight?"
Norah looked down sadly. "Why doesn't he like me?"
Henson scrunched his face in thought. "There are girls in my class who like me, but I don't like them back. So, just because you're great doesn't automatically mean the other person is going to like you."
Norah's nose was red. She looked at Henson. "Do they annoy you?"
Henson nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
Norah felt even worse. "So, when I was always hanging around the barbecue restaurant, Xavier was probably really annoyed with me. I'm such a failure."
Henson let out a heavy sigh, sounding remarkably like a world-weary adult. "Then just forget about him. You've failed at this once before, right? Just treat it as failing again."
Norah sniffled. "Aren't you supposed to be comforting me?"
"If you're heading in the wrong direction, trying harder is just going to make things worse," Henson said solemnly.
"I thought you came here to cheer me up," Norah muttered dejectedly.
Henson patted her shoulder, his tone deepening. "There's no such thing as true empathy in this world. Even if I try to comfort you, it won't magically make you happy. We're all adults here; you need to learn how to comfort yourself."
Norah was caught off guard and let out a watery laugh. "How old are you again? Since when are you an adult?"
"Adulthood isn't about age, it's about maturity," Henson retorted.
He paused. "Judging by your maturity level, you definitely haven't reached adulthood yet. So if you want to cry, go ahead and cry. Crying is a privilege for kids."
Norah didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Why do I feel like you just came here to laugh at me?"
Henson scoffed. "That's because you made yourself into a joke. If you weren't acting like a joke, nobody could laugh at you."
Norah glared at him with her tear-swollen eyes. "Wow, look who's suddenly so profound. Stop acting like an old man. No matter how immature I am, I'm still ten years older than you!"
Henson nodded sagely. "True. Ten extra years of eating salt definitely counts for something."
Norah couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. She buried her face in her knees, laughing so hard it sounded like crying, which somehow made the whole thing even more heartbreaking to watch.


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