[She didn't answer at first. All she did was push the previously forgotten notebook out of sight and bite her lip.]
I'll be fine out here. Whatever doesn't kill me will just make me stronger, right?
[At least that was what she liked to think. It was easier to reassure herself that way. If all she had to do to make things better was to try harder, then there would at least be some sort of goal she could reach for someday. Even a lofty goal was fine with her.]