A fictional story inspired by Truffle's first crying obs.

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Evelyn looked at the list in front of her and pondered.

She was at a retreat in Scarborough that her high school had organised and her classmates were playing a game.

The purpose of the game was one person in the group had to choose one thing from the list that they could do. The tasks ranged from a Shakespeare monologue to singing the alphabet in a foreign language, or naming every level in a computer game.

Evelyn's eyes perked up. She was certain she could do that having an aunt who had been a Doom speedrunner.

"Name every level in a computer game." Lucy announced. She was the student teacher in charge of the group and seemed very young. Evelyn's two best friends Lindsay and Helen thought she was very pretty.

Evelyn put her hand up and was invited to give her list.

"The Doom II megawad Scythe." she informed Lucy, who found the relevant site on her iPad and nodded to her to start.

She recited her list needing to stop occasionally to remember a level title

' What does come after Burial Grounds ' she thought to herself before remembering it had to be Book Lords.

She completed her list and bashfully received her applause. She hoped her fellow classmates didn't think she was a complete nerd.

On the contrary they were most impressed when she informed them that her aunt had been a speedrunner.

A Shakespeare monologue was next and there were a few giggles when Liam stood up. They went away however when he started to speak.

'In faith, I will. Let me peruse this face
Mercutio's kinsman, noble County Paris
What said my man, when my betossed soul
Did not attend him as he rode?'

The atmosphere in the room changed from one of fun to spellbinding silence. Evelyn could see tears starting to well in Lindsay's eyes. This was expected, she cried very easily.

Her girlfriend Helen on the other hand didn't so it was a big surprise to Evelyn when tears filled her eyes too.

Evelyn looked up. Lucy already had a single tear glistening it's way down her right cheek as Liam continued to speak. A second began it's silent path down Lucy's left cheek as the first tear fell off her chin

'For here lies Juliet, and her beauty makes
This vault a feasting presence full of light' Liam continued

Lindsay's tears fell from her eyes and a pair slid down her cheeks. Helen's eyes were so
full it didn't seem possible they could hold anymore tears and a few seconds later one streamed down the left hand side of her face followed by a second that came down sliding down the other side slightly slower.

'Forgive me, cousin! Ah, dear Juliet
Why art thou yet so fair?

Evelyn had another look around. The two Jennifer's in the opposite corner both had wet faces indicating they had been crying too. Sadie was the next to crack a single tear making a slow unhurried path down her right cheek before stopping halfway down.

'The doors of death, seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death!

Lois was next to cry but her tears barely made it from her eyes before she wiped them away, this left Evelyn and Sophie as the only girls who hadn't been moved to tears by Liam's monologue.

Evelyn looked across the assembled company, catching another tear running down Lucy's cheek.

'O true apothecary!
Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.'

Sophie blinked as the monologue came to an end sending one tear then another down her cheeks that stopped half way down near the tip of her nose.

Liam was given a standing ovation for his performance, and Helen, Lindsay, Lucy, the two Jennifer's, Lois, Sadie and Sophie wiped their tear stained faces

"Never make me cry ever again!" Lindsay joked to Liam.

"I'll try not to." Liam said seemingly embarrassed he'd let so many of his classmates and a teacher break down in tears.

Evelyn managed to get a chance to have a chat as they made the orange squash that night for the evening meal.

"I never knew you liked Shakespeare." she asked him

"It's a closely guarded secret." Liam said shyly.

"I have a closely guarded secret too." Evelyn confessed. "I've written a play, it's not Shakespeare it's a whodunit thriller. You're welcome to read it if you want."

"I'd love to." Liam told her.