Special

Solutions

The weeks tiptoed by steadily like a child sneaking into the kitchen to steal cookies, but as exasperatingly slow as a car moving through the streets during rush hour. More often than not Daniel found himself glancing at whatever clock was in his field of view, counting the minutes, the seconds, whatever it took to make him feel like time was progressing. It felt like it was the only thing he could do. Out of impatience or boredom he flicked his pencil against Matt's arm. Matt was now sitting next to him in the first row at the table that had previously been empty. Nobody wanted to sit in the first row. But exceptions applied.

Matt looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm bored," Daniel whispered. Even though the teacher was standing almost right in front of them Daniel knew that there was rarely a need to worry about getting caught. It was strange. People would sit in the rows further in the back because they thought it would allow them to slack off or talk among themselves without the teacher noticing. But those where the places that the teachers directed their attention to. They always got caught whereas nobody suspected the notoriously good students in the first row to have conversations about the weekend. And just like always the teacher was too focused on catching the people in the back of the class that he completely missed Daniel's whispers.

"Why are you bored? It's maths. You love maths," Matt replied and shot the teacher a nervous glance. But still the teacher didn't pay any attention to them.

Daniel shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel restless. I want to leave."

"Do you want to go to the café later?"

"Are you trying to give me something to look forward to so that time will pass by even more slowly?"

Matt nudged his elbow. "I would never."

Daniel pouted.

"Let's hang out later," Matt chuckled under his breath. "You can ask Emily if she and Allie want to join."

"Really? Who do you think I am? An extrovert?" Daniel pretended to be offended but before Matt could reply the bell rang releasing them from the prison of math class.

"We are going somewhere?" Emily asked while stuffing her notebook into her backpack.

"The café? If you want to join?" Daniel forwarded Matt's suggestion and Emily nodded excitedly. She had fallen in love with it just as much as Daniel and Matt had and every chance she got she would join them there.

"Allie could join, too," Matt added. Without any further questions Emily pulled out her phone to text her and nodded.

"Let's go," she said and pushed past them to lead the way out of the labyrinth of hallways that still tried its best to eternally trap students there.

"Want me to take that for you?" Matt asked and pointed at the jacket that Daniel was carrying. As spring turned into summer the days had turned rather warm but the mornings were still as cold as ever so that Daniel ended up carrying the jacket that he had worn earlier. He nodded and handed it to Matt. Just like so many other things it had become sort of a ritual. Matt's bag was a bit bigger than his so the jacket fit into it perfectly.

"Are you his servant boy now?" someone snarled from behind them and all three of them groaned simultaneously.

"What do you want, Joe?" Matt said, his voice clearly conveying his annoyance.

"Didn't think you'd integrate with the losers this quickly," Jonathan laughed apparently trying his very best to appear as threateningly as possible but somehow also managing to fail miserably. Matt ignored him entirely. His eyes were fixed on Joe and Daniel noticed how he protectively stepped between him and Joe.