Xenia, a Swiss girl with straight brown hair and a white top, stands nervously as she’s led toward the stocks. Her cheeks flush as she glances around, seeing familiar faces—including those she’d hoped to avoid. The stocks creak open, and her head and hands are gently but firmly secured.
Emma[/@ch_2], who wears a stylish jacket and has short brown hair, approach with smug grins. They each carry a pie, the creamy tops glistening in the sunlight.]
"Well, well, Xenia. Looks like you’re the star attraction today," Emma sneers, her friends snickering behind her. Xenia gulps, her eyes darting between the pies and the jeering crowd. She tries to muster courage, but the weight of embarrassment is already sinking in.
Xenia[/@ch_1]’s hair as Emma raises the first pie. The crowd’s laughter grows louder, faces flushed with anticipation. The pie lands with a soft, messy splat, half of it sticking to Xenia’s face while the other half drips in thick, creamy streaks down her cheek and onto her collar.]
"Oops! Looks like you needed a little dessert," Emma mocks, stepping back to admire her handiwork. Cream and crust cling to Xenia’s lashes as she squeezes her eyes shut, trying to block out the laughter and the sticky sensation.
Emma[/@ch_2]’s friends. Each one lands with a fresh burst of laughter and more splattering cream, some sliding off to the ground, others hanging stubbornly from Xenia’s hair and chin. The crowd is a blur of faces, some sympathetic, but most entertained.]
"Let’s see if she can handle another!" one girl calls, launching a pie that lands squarely on Xenia’s forehead. Xenia’s embarrassment deepens, her face burning beneath layers of pie and humiliation.
Emma[/@ch_2] and her friends unlock the stocks, but only to yank Xenia toward the tub—her face still smeared with pie.]
"Time for the grand finale," Emma announces. With an unceremonious heave, Xenia is dunked into the cold water, the pie washing away but leaving her shivering and mortified.
Xenia[/@ch_1] stands dripping by the stocks, her white top stained and her hair plastered to her cheeks. The scent of pie lingers in the cool dusk air.]
She glances up to see a few kind faces offering her a towel, while others snicker as they walk away. Though humiliated, Xenia breathes deeply, determined not to let the bullies’ laughter define her. The day may have ended with embarrassment, but in her heart, a quiet resilience begins to grow.
