My Best Friend

Different

Mindy stood outside the school waiting for Thomas. Today she put on one of her good dresses and brushed her tangled hair making it look even more tangled. She didn't understand why she did all of this. Mindy never cared about looking nice for anyone. Thomas was different. He made her want to look nice. All of this was for him.

"Thomas!" Mindy called out waving.

Thomas looked up and ran toward her. They noticed each other looked different today. Thomas' hair didn't look as messy as it did the other day.

"I like your hair today", Mindy said. "It looks a lot better than mine."

He gave her a confused and ran his fingers through her hair. She blushed and smiled from his touch.

"I know, it looks awful. That's just the way my hair is. I brush it, but it always looks like I just crawled out of bed."

Thomas shook his head and smiled. Mindy saw it and smiled too.

"Hey... that's the first time I've ever seen you smile", she said.

He looked at her unsure if that was a good thing or not. She gently raised her hands to touch his face. Thomas pulled away afraid of what she was going to do. She pulled her hands away understandingly.

"It's alright", Mindy said. "I won't touch you if you don't want me to. But Thomas..."

She touched his hand and let her fingers wrap around his hand. He looked at their hands and up at her questionably.

"You have a nice smile. You should smile more often."

Tears came to Thomas' eyes. No one had ever said that to him before. Then again, no one ever treated him as good as Mindy. Well, maybe no one except Mama and Uncle Monty, but they were family. They were supposed to treat him good.

"Thomas?"

Mindy put her hand on his shoulder.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

He said nothing as he pulled her in for a hug. She really was his best friend... his only friend. Mindy wrapped her arms around him as she felt his tears fall on her shoulder.

"Thomas, I'm sorry. Was it something I said?"

Thomas shook his head. The three boys that picked on him the other day walked by and saw his tear-streaked face.

"Aww, did a little girl make the big dumb baby cry?" Jesse teased.

Mindy glared at them along with Thomas.

"Leave him alone!" she yelled.

"And what are you? His little pet? You his dog? Dumb animal can't stand up for himself?"

A growl rose from Thomas' throat. His fingers curled into a fist. The school bell rang making Jesse and the other boys run inside. Mindy pulled Thomas along.

"Come on", she said. "He's not worth it."

He continued to glare at the entrance to the school. He looked at Mindy and his features softened. She smiled and took his hand.

"It's okay. They won't hurt you now that I'm here."

She hugged him.

"I'll protect you."

Thomas hugged her back tightly. He held her and repeated what she said in his head.

I won't let anyone hurt you.

They pulled away smiling at each other. Their fingers intertwined as they walked inside. This time, Mindy ignored all the stares as she thought about how she made Thomas smile. She was determined to make him smile more often.