Susan James was sitting all alone in school. She didn't want to attract any attention. Not that she could attract attention anyhow.

Susan looked at her half-bitten nails. She hated her appearance. It seemed harsh, but it was true.

"Susan, over here!" called a voice. Susan turned around to see Cassandra Trillin, or just Cassie. She was the prettiest girl Susan knew, with her gorgeous pale blonde locks and sparkling emerald green eyes. She was always dressed in designer outfits.

"Hi Cassie," said Susan. "What's up?"

Cassie shrugged. "I'm going to the bookshop today to get some new notebooks. I wondered if you would like to come along?"

Susan shrugged. "Sure," she said. "It should be fun."

It wasn't fun. For starters, Cassie's parents were actors, so Cassie herself was famous. People kept asking her for autographs and taking pictures of her.

Susan wasn't comfortable with all of those people snapping pictures of her best friend at every opportunity. Truthfully, Cassie didn't like the attention either. She felt extremely uncomfortable every time she had to smile for a photograph by a silly fan or write her name for people she didn't even know.

"Cassie, I don't like this," said Susan.

"I'm sorry," said Cassie. "I didn't know that my fans were that obsessed with me."

The two girls were thankful when they arrived at the bookshop. Cassie had only meant to buy a couple of notebooks, but she and Susan got distracted by seeing many Disney Twisted Tales books. Unfortunately for them, people started taking pictures of them. It was too much for them, so they ran out of the bookshop.

~📘~📘~📘~📘~📘~📘~📘~📘~📘~📘~

That night, Susan got the shock of her life. She followed Cassie on social media, so her phone always got notifications when a post Cassie had been tagged in was uploaded. So naturally she was able to see the photo of Cassie and her on Instagram thirty seconds after it was posted.

However, it wasn't the photo itself that upset her. It was the comments.

Usually, Susan knew better than to read nasty comments about something. But those comments were horrible!

Wow, Cassandra Trillin's really pretty.
I wish that I was her.
Look at her friend! She looks a mess! How can Cassandra hang out with her?
Yeah. Celebrities should stick to rich kids.

Susan wanted to cry. Was she really so awful looking? She had always tried her best to look neat and tidy. She was just about to turn her phone off when a comment from Cassie appeared.

How dare you all shamelessly disrespect my best friend like that? She may not look very pretty but she's beautiful on the inside and that's why I like her. So shut up about her and if I hear you saying anything mean about her again you're getting blocked! Do you understand me? 😡😡😡

Susan reread the comment ten times. She realized that Cassie was right. The comment was not only a warning for the people who had made rude comments. It was also a message for Susan.

Susan replied to Cassie.

Thanks. This means a lot to me.

Looking beautiful didn't matter one bit if you were awful in the inside. Cassie was beautiful on the inside and the outside. That was what actually mattered.

Susan smiled. "I don't care about my appearance anymore," she said. "I love myself the way I am."

Cassie even gave Susan a surprise a week after that. She offered to give Susan a makeover and the latter agreed. So Cassie started glamming her up.

Susan gasped when she saw herself in the mirror. She was wearing contact lenses instead of her usual glasses. Her hair had been softened and she was wearing a light layer of makeup.

"I barely recognized myself," said Susan.

Cassie smiled. "I told you that I can make you beautiful," she said.

Susan gave Cassie a hug. "Thanks Cassie. This means a lot to me."