He was sitting there.
The ignored lecturer kept talking while I tried to catch Finn’s green eyes with mine. He lifted his head a bit and finally faced me.
“What?” he mouthed.
Wow. He looked so different now. I remembered when those green eyes were lighter and livelier—and they would twinkle every time he spoke. I remembered when his black hair was neatly cut in a pixie style. Now, it was draping all over his head like overgrown bushes. I did not even think he bothered to wash or comb it this morning.
Finn Tisdale, what was wrong with you?
“Are you okay?” I said back, inaudibly. I might not like him anymore but he was still my friend.
My only friend here.
Moving to a big city like the Big Apple was hard. I never felt like I fit in since day one. Now, I had spent one semester in this class, and he was my only friend.
-
“And that is how the first equation of motion was derived. Now—“
The whole class fell silent when I barged in. Their looks were so shocked that I felt like drowning into the ground I was standing on as soon as possible. But I froze, with two dozen pairs of eyes staring back at me.
“What can I help you with, Miss…”
“Longbottom. Emily Longbottom,” I murmured.
Giggles were heard across the room. Why wasn’t I surprised? Oh, right, I had been receiving the same reaction every time I introduced myself.
“Actually, I’m looking for room 2—1—A,” I said patiently. The teacher couldn’t help but chuckle at my awkwardness, I guess. “You’re in the wrong class. And I can see you’re late. Maybe wait until recess to make your grand entrance?” she replied, almost sarcastically.
The students did not seem any different, either. But one of them looked at me with a goofy, almost harmless smile, and I couldn’t help but look back.
-
“Hey! You found your class already?”
I closed my locker door and turned to the black-haired, green-eyed guy beside me. His rather lean figure was leaning on the wall. Ah, the goofy guy.
The harmless guy.
“Finally did, thanks for the concern,” I replied. He laughed. “New to town?”
“You bet.”
“I’m Finn Tisdale. Mind if I show you our cafetaria?”
“That would be great,” I shook his hand and grinned.
-
Since then, we were inseparable. Male best friends were great, weren’t they? They didn’t gossip, they didn’t force you to accompany them shopping, they didn’t start drama and nonsense.
But it couldn’t be any worse once you fall in love with one.
Finn was caring and romantic. Plus, he was the top scorer in my class. But all it took was one long weekend for him to change forever.
-
Finn replied my question by shaking his head. He had been acting weird for a few weeks now, and we weren’t that close anymore. And when I said that he was weird, he was bizarrely weird. He used to cycle to school, but now he took the school bus. When I asked why, he said he wanted to blend in. “It’s too dangerous to cycle alone. With the school bus, I’m more difficult to spot,” I remembered his explanation.
