Changed Me ( Rewritten)

35

            Nat and Max are the first ones to arrive at the restaurant. So they make their way inside first. So they can get a table for everyone. " Max and Nat, how wonderful to see you both " the woman says as they enter the restaurant. Her bright mood helps cheer him up. " Hello ma'am. It's nice to see you again " he says.

            " It's wonderful to see you as well dear. Will it just be you guys today " She asks. " No, Nat's friend and then Zee and Poppy are coming as well " Max says. She nods her head before having them follow her to a booth near the corner.

            As they are sitting down, the others arrive. " Over here Poppy " she calls out, beckoning them over. " Hi grandma " Poppy says, hugging the older women. " Hi dear " she says as Poppy and the others sit down at the table with them. " The usual for you three. What about you two " she says, gesturing towards him and NuNew.

            " You'd like the glass noddles with tofu, it's what I got last time " he quietly says to NuNew. He nods his head, agreeing with what he says. So he turns towards the women and says " We'd like glass noodles and tofu please. As well as Thai tea ". She smiles as she writes down their order. " Coming right up " she says before leaving the table.

            " When did you come here with P'Max, Nat " NuNew asked him curiously. A light shade of pink colors his cheeks as he says " The first day. After I walked away from you upset he drove and parked on the side of the road before getting me to come with him " he says quietly. " How'd he do that. You found him annoying yet the first day you willingly get into his car and go to a restaurant with him " NuNew says dumbfounded.

            " I walked over to him and hugged him " Max says. " A hug is all it took " Zee says laughing. " it's always teasing me whenever you guys lift the mood " he says. " No, this is not me teasing. I'm just in shock " NuNew says. " Listen, I don't even know why is agreed so easily ok. It was just a spur of the moment kind of thing. After all, I had to write an essay about him for English " he says.

            " All I hear are excuses " NuNew says. He rolls his eyes, " Think whatever you want to NuNew " he says, causing everyone to laugh. Which in return does help him feel better. They help distract him from what's just happened back at the school. They help him forget about all the bad things.

   They're always there to help cheer him up. Which he's incredibly grateful for. Even if it that happiness only last for a few seconds, he still finds himself being thankful. He knows that eventually, thanks to them. He will get through everything that has happened to him.

He doesn't know what to give back to them in order to show how grateful he is. The only thing he can think of, is to fight and stay strong. So he can show how much they help him. So that he can help himself get better as well.

" It's almost summer time. Do you guys have any plans " Zee asks, pulling him from his thoughts. " I don't have any plans. We should all hang out a lot during summer " NuNew says. He nods his head in agreement, taking a few bites of his food.

" I have a pool at my house, we can always hang out there and swim " Max suggests. " We can do that while schools still happening! It's been hot out recently " NuNew says excitedly. " We should plan a day to. We can also bring food and have a picnic of some sort. It'll be relaxing " Poppy says.

            " What do you think of this plan Nat " Zee asks him. He smiles and says " I like it. It soun- ". He's unable to finish his sentence as his phone rings. So he quickly takes it out of his pocket, looking to see who's calling him.

             " It's my mom " he says a little nervous. He already can tell the call will be about the case or what happened today. " You should answer it Nat " NuNew says gently. He nods his head and takes a deep breath before answering the call.

            " Sorry to bother you Nat, especially with what I need to ask " his mother says immediately. Knowing this will be a difficult call, he reaches over and grabs on to NuNew's hand for support. " What is it " he asks. " The people in charge of the case want to know if you're willing to testify at the trail " his mother says.

            " I-I don't know if I can be " he says before pausing. He forces himself to take a deep breath. " Is it necessary " he asks quietly. " I'm going to be honest with you and I know this will be hard for you to hear. Especially after what you went through today " he hears the familiar officer say.

            " With the evidence we have right now. We are looking at putting Aek in jail for 9 months. If we want to put him in jail for at least a year, we need you to testify. So that the jury can see how this has effected you and hear first hand what has happened " The officer says, causing him to tense up. " B-But there's video and photos " he says quietly.

            He bites his lip as he thinks about the current situation. " Because he didn't go further, it can't be the maximum sentence " the officer tells him gently. " When is the trial " he asks. " This Saturday at 1:00pm " the officer says.

             He looks up at everyone before quickly looking back down. He needs to be strong to show them how thankful he is. He needs to do this. He has to. He has no choice. " I-I'll do it " he says quietly. " Alright, I'll talk to you later at home, ok Nat " his mother says gently. " Ok " he says before the call ends.

            He pulls the phone away from his ear, immediately noticing how much it's shaking. " Nat, what did they say. What are you going to do " Max asks him gently as he grabs ahold of his hand. Both NuNew and Max are now holding his hands.

            He forces himself to take deep breath in order to try and calm himself down. " The trail is on Saturday at 1:00pm " he says quietly. " Nat did you just " Poppy says before pausing, quickly figuring out what the call was about. He nods his head yes.

            " why did you agree to testify when you are terrified to be near him " Poppy asks concerned. " I had to " he says quietly, trying to keep his composure. " Why did you have to agree to do it " Zee asks. " T-They said that with everything they have. They are looking at putting him in jail for 9 months. If we want to put him in jail for at least a year, I have to testify " he says quietly, not looking at everyone.

            He flinches when NuNew slams his hand down on the table. " That's not fair! Why is it such little time " NuNew says angrily. " Because he " he says before pausing, catching everyone's attention. " Because he didn't. H-He didn't get far enough to. H-He didn't " he's struggling to even say it. He never thought about if it had continued and what Aek would have done. He never wanted to admit it. He only wanted to think that it would just be kissing and touching.

            " Don't say it " Zee says, frustration and anger clear in his voice. He lets out a shaky breath he didn't know he was holding in. " We'll be there with you the entire time. And even get as close as we can. When your not testifying we can even have two people on each side of you. So that you will feel safe " Zee says.

            " I need to try and prepare myself for this in some way. But I don't even know how to do that. Especially when I don't know what the questions are going to be " he says, rubbing his forehead as he tries to calm down. " We'll help you. Anything you need us to do or that you want to do. We will be there and help " NuNew says immediately. He can only nod his head in agreement as he immediately starts to try and prepare himself for the trail.

                           WC: 1428