Pic 0: Dan sits in his bedroom in front of his bed.
Dan thought: Oof, that sure was memorable. This is the worst day of my life. I can never show my face at school ever again.
Pic 1: An incoming call phone screen appears to the right of Dan, with the caller ID reading "Ruby." The scene changes to a split screen, with Dan sitting on the left and Ruby on the right. Each has their name and a calling icon above their heads. Ruby is a Black nonbinary 15-year-old with short hair, they are wearing a blue and yellow tank top.
Ruby: Hey Danners, how's it going?
Dan: (frustrated sigh) I don't know. You saw me earlier.
Ruby: Yeah, what happened?
Dan: Well, I felt pretty confident going in. Everything just started going wrong.
Ruby: (unconvincingly) It wasn't that bad.
Dan: Today was literally the worst day of my life, Rubes.
Ruby: It all happened so fast.
Dan chooses to Respond and says, "Yeah, I don't know, it's like."
Dan chooses to Open Up and says, "I guess I feel like no one will ever forget, and I'll be a loser forever. I, I feel really trapped by the whole thing. What people think of me is out of my control."
Ruby: Okay, so you're having some intense feelings. Totally understandable. Do you want to talk about it? Or do you need some time?
Dan: Um, yeah, I, I think talking would help.
Ruby nods.
Dan: I'm just really worried about how this will affect the rest of the year, or even the rest of high school.
Ruby: I totally understand. Yeah, this feels like a big deal. But you've gotten through big-deal stuff before, right?
Dan: (unconvinced) I guess so.
Dan decides to Talk it Through and says, "I mean, I probably won't fail out of school. But it's hard not to feel like this will affect other things. How people at school see me, how I see myself. I don't know, it's a lot."
Ruby: That makes sense. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by this stuff. I would, too. This is hard. But, you've gotten through hard stuff before, right?
Dan: I guess.
Dan decides to Respond, and says, "I get what you're saying, even if it's hard to look past the worst-case scenario."
Ruby: It can be tough, but you can always remind yourself, "Hey, just because I'm thinking this horrible thing, doesn't mean it's going to come true." You know?
Dan: (sighs) At least I have you and our other friends to help me get through it.
Ruby: (cheerily) You couldn't get rid of us if you tried.
Dan: Ugh, what a day.