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02

The rest of my day was pretty standard. I met some very colorful characters on my way around the schedule I would have for the next year. I met Jonny, who told me he refused to wear anything that didn't have some purple in it. He said it made shopping for him extremely difficult. I also met Sydney, who was so energetic I wanted to kill myself. I met Thomas, who needed to shower, and Gloria, who tried to kiss me before I left Algebra third hour. Sure, I was interested in meeting them and saying hello, but in every class I walked into, my eyes darted around the classroom looking for Mae, or even Israel. A familiar face, because all my friends from middle school moved away or went to the high school across town. All of them except Tristan, but he was sick, and a grade older than me, so he already had friends of his own.

The best part of my day was the ending. It couldn't come fast enough, because I discovered throughout the day that Mae and I had completely different schedules. We didn't have a single class together. It was okay, though, because we had the bus. We could still become best friends, and possibly even more than that.

I walked out to the bus, relieved to finally get to see Mae Sonny again. I got there before she did, so I walked to the back of the bus and took the same seat we had shared so many hours earlier. I sat on the isle with my backpack next to me, put in my earbuds, and laid back. Throughout my many years riding school busses, I learned that people won't ask you to share your seat if you look occupied. I kept glancing up every couple of seconds to make sure I didn't look too busy for Mae to come sit with me.

I waited just like that for a few minutes before Mae finally walked on the bus. I got so excited and my heart started racing and I could feel sweat starting to bead on the back of my neck. I moved my backpack onto my lap and scooted all the way to the window. I waved my hand at her, motioning to come to the back.

I don't think she saw me, because she turned and smiled at Chase Huntington, one of the boys I'd gone to school with since we were three. The two of us used to be joined at the hip, but we grew apart in middle school when he became the first person in our grade to lose his virginity. After that, he kept using girls and discarding them a few weeks later, after he got bored. He was always looking for new faces, and Mae was about as new as they got.

My heart dropped to my stomach and I watched her sit down next to him. I watched as he fake yawned and put his arm around her shoulders. It's okay, Cole. Don't freak out. I kept whispering to myself. I kept my eyes closed and breathed. That's all I focused on. Breathing. I didn't even notice when another girl came back and sat next to me.

"You like her?" she said, nodding up the bus towards Mae. I looked over at this girl, who, unlike Mae, was obviously beautiful. She had curly blonde hair that billowed over her shoulders. Her almost black eyes contrasted perfectly to her fair skin and icy hair. She had perfect skin dotted with freckles across the tops of her cheeks. She was only wearing makeup on her eyes, and only enough to make them pop even more than they would have otherwise. I guess I stared at her for a little too long because she then asked, "Um, are you okay?"

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm, um, okay. And no, I don't like her. We're just friends." I answered. I was in disbelief that someone like her, so oddly perfect, would come and talk to me. Maybe she was also from a foreign country and maybe boys who look like me are seen as attractive there.

"Oh, my bad. So, then, are you single?" She asked me. My eyes must have been as wide as saucers.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." I said. I was so nervous I couldn't even believe it.

"Well, that's good. You should keep it that way. Stay friends with Mae, okay? But don't date her. I'm Ryder." She said, presenting her hand to me waiting to shake mine.