Changed Me ( Rewritten)

30

            When him and Max walk into the school, everyone's eyes immediately land on them. They're all watching and whispering to each other as him and Max walk to their lockers. He knows that it's probably because of what happened on Monday. How Aek had essentially held him hostage when the police tried to get him.

            He knows that they are probably curious about what exactly went on. He can't blame them, he knows that he would probably be curious as well. However, it doesn't feel good. Knowing everyone's looking and whispering about you. Even Kit whispers to Copter, silently watching him as he walks.

            When they get to their locker, he distracts himself by talking with the others. " You look nice Nat " Poppy says. He smiles and says " Thank you ". Poppy just nods his head, smiling at him. He can tell that they're all trying to distract him. Which he really appreciates.

            " Why did you dress up today " Zee asks him. He smiles and says " I remembered something NuNew told me back when my father had passed away " he says quietly. " Dressing up has been proven to brighten peoples moods when they're feeling down " NuNew says quietly. He smiles and nods his head.

            " I said that casually back then. I didn't expect you to remember something like that Nat " NuNew says quietly. " I only remembered it suddenly when I was looking for an outfit to wear today " he says to NuNew. " Does it help " Poppy asks him. He has to think for a bit on what to answer.

            " If I'm honest, I don't know. However, being with you guys has helped me " he answers truthfully. " How so " Max gently asks him. " Well for starters, you all are trying your best to distract me from everyone. Which I really appreciate " he says as he smiles.

            He takes a deep breath before he continues to talk. " However the main reason. Is that being with you guys makes the day ahead seem a little less scary ". All of them smile and it helps. " I'm glad that we do that for you " Zee says. He nods his head.

            Shortly after, the bell rings. Signaling the official start to the school day. " See you guys at lunch " he says with a small smile. " Text me if something happens before then " NuNew says. He nods his head before they all head separate ways. Him and Max walk to their English class.

            When they enter the classroom, his teacher beckons him over. So he quickly walks over to her while Max heads to their seats. " Yes Mrs.M " he says quietly. She smiles at him gently and for some reason. He immediately knows what she wants to talk about. His thought is confirmed when she starts to speak.

            " I just wanted to say that I heard what happened and I'm sorry. You do not have to present your essay in front of everyone if you don't want to " she says. He gently smiles at her and quietly says " Thank you for offering but I want to present it. It's the main reason I came to school today and if I didn't present it. It would only cause unwanted attention ".

            She nods her head before saying " Alright, you and Max are the last group on my list to present today ". He nods his head before walking to his seat. When he sits down, the class starts. He silently listens to the presentations before it's his turn.

            " Max and Nat. It's your turn. You can decide who goes first " she says. " I'll go first " he says before walking to the front of the classroom with his paper. Having everyone's eyes on him, makes him nervous but he reminds himself why he came to school today. So he takes a deep breath before reading his essay about Max.

            " For this essay I was paired with P'Max or as several people in our school like to call him, the star basketball player. Before getting to know him I only saw how he acts with everyone. He likes to joke around and tease people a lot. Even jokingly flirting with people. I saw him as someone very different from me. That's why at the start of talking to him I didn't really want to get close because he was the popular kid while I was the quiet kid. Yet P'Max kept trying to be my friend. With each minute that I hung out with him he would surprise me. He was quite different then what I perceived him to be. The jokester ended up being someone who I can trust. Within the short amount of time that I got to know him I found out that he's very caring. If I was having a hard time he would instantly be there at my side trying to cheer me up. When I got bullied he would stand up for me. P'Max is the type of person you can trust. The person that you know will be there for you in your darkest moments. He is quite different from what I thought. And probably what most people think. P'Max has taught me so many things in a short amount of time. The biggest thing he taught me was to not judge a book by its cover. If you do, you might miss the chance to have a kind and caring person by your side to help you when you need it most ".

Once he is done reading his essay, his cheeks are colored a light shade of pink. " That was a wonderful essay Nat. You can go back to your seat. While Max can come up and present his essay to the class " the teacher says. He nods his head before quickly heading back to his seat. Once he's sitting down, he watches Max closely, interested in what he has wrote about him.

" My essay is written about Nat. I have always seen him around the school hallways and in class but never talked to him. However he's always caught my eye. The quiet kid in the front of class who studies well and always hangs out with his friend during lunch. The quiet kid that always smiles whenever he gets a perfect score on his test. I've always perceived him as this cute quiet kid. I wanted to get close to him and become his friend. I just didn't know how to start the conversation. However when my friend started to talk to Nat's friend, I saw it as the perfect opportunity. I made my move by teasing him. I made sure that I sat next to him in class and continued to talk to him. The first moment that I noticed I was wrong about him was when me and him went to a restaurant together. It was just me and him. We talked about ourselves and what we like. I told him how I loved to play basketball and want to play it in college. While he told me about his passion for art. I have never seen someone more passionate then Nat was. As time went by and we got this assignment we got closer and closer. Nat started to show his true colors. The quiet and shy kid turned out to be a mischievous kid. Something that I would have never guessed. Something that I'm so glad he feels comfortable enough to act like in front of me. I was truly surprised by Nat and how different he is then everyone thinks. I'm really grateful that me and Nat have gotten as close as we have. And I can't wait to see what we do together in the future ".

                    WC: 1279