“I was looking for you,” I heard someone call… Charlie? “Where did you go?” he asked.

“Leave me alone,” I snapped, facing him.

He winced, probably hurt by my tone.

“Keith…” Charlie mumbled.

“What do you want?” I demanded sharply.

“I… nothing. I’m sorry I bothered you,” he decided.

Charlie sulked off and I rolled my eyes. I probably shouldn’t be fighting with him… I don’t have a phone, so after I leave, I won’t be able to talk to him at all. I scowled at the thought.

“What class do I have…” I mumbled. “Oh… history… fun…” I said sarcastically to myself.

I made it to class without any further… inconveniences and sat down at my desk. The teacher droned on about Aztecs for an hour and a half and after that, I left for lunch. At lunch, I ignored Charlie and everyone else’s judgemental stares as I sat down next to Aspen. As soon as I sat down, she turned her body to face me and smiled. I bit into an apple as she greeted me.

“Are you sure your nose is okay?” she asked.

“Yeah… Probably,” I replied.

“Let me see,” she requested.

I inclined my towards her and she stared intently at me. I felt uncomfortable in being so close to a girl and flinched again when she touched my face gently. Aspen probed at my jaw, then at the area around my nose. I shuddered and she pulled away, apologizing to me.

“No… it’s fine… It hurt a little bit, but it also kind of tickled somehow,” I admitted, tilting my head in confusion.

“Mmn… Okay,” she mumbled. “You want to hang out tomorrow?”

“Ehh… I’m kind of transferring schools soon… sorry…” I replied. I paused. “I guess tomorrow would be fine, but I’m pretty sure that’s when I’m leaving,” I told her.

The surprise and slight distress was clear on her voice and face, but she was clearly trying to keep it quiet.

“What? Really?” she asked.

“Yeah… sorry,” I responded.

“Is there any way I could keep in contact? I want us to be friends,” she explained quickly.

“Uhh, I don’t have a phone, but I guess we could talk through email,” I suggested slowly.

Aspen smiled.

“Sure! That sounds like a great idea!” she agreed enthusiastically.

“Okay…” We quickly rambled off email addresses. “Cool.”

“Nice,” she said awkwardly. “What school are you going to?”

“I don’t really know. I just know it’s a boarding school,” I confessed.

None of what happened for the rest of the school day mattered, as I didn’t really talk to anyone. The teachers droned on dully about the lessons and I listened… kind of. To be honest, my thoughts were occupied by my new school, Aspen, and Charlie. At least no one will know me there. I walked home in silence and went straight to my room to look through my suitcases one last time. Oh! I should probably ask my mother if I can go with Aspen. I frowned and knocked on her door.