I heard the conversation on the bus. I felt like crying when I heard the mean words about me. It hurt more than I could’ve imagined. I had expected people to start laughing, but for my surprise, no one did.

And then Max said I was his friend. I couldn’t believe it! Soon after that, the bus arrived at our school, and students started gathering their things and getting up from their seats. I tried to see Max, but I was too short to spot him behind the wall of students around me.

I hurried out of the bus, and I saw a glimpse of Max with his friends, walking towards the entrance. I wanted to run after him and thank him for standing up for me, but I lost my courage when more people joined his little squad. I knew I would only freeze if I tried to speak with him in front of all those people.

I followed him from a distance, and even managed to get in the right class in time, but it was only because Max had the same class with me. He was sitting in the middle of the classroom, and I kept peering at him the whole time. He looked good always, but when he smiled or laughed, he looked like an angel. I wouldn’t have been surprised if God himself had popped in our classroom to take him back to paradise, where he belonged.

I tried to concentrate on the class, I really did, but when it ended, I didn’t even know if it had been math or English. I grabbed my bag and tried to follow Max, but I lost sight of him, and when I got out of the room, he was gone again.

I sighed, still looking around. Absolutely everyone in the hallway had someone right next to them. I saw best friends and couples wherever I looked. They all seemed so happy when chatting with each other and having fun.

Then there was me. The lonely, weird geek. I had enjoyed talking with Max about our project, and I had realized how much I missed having company. If only there was someone who liked nature too. Someone who liked to talk about it, but it seemed like people thought talking about animals was just for little kids or something. It wasn’t cool to talk about cats or dogs.

I wandered around the school while waiting for the next period to start. I tried to ignore the big groups of friends all around me. No one paid any attention to me, and even if it was better than being bullied, I still kind of wanted them to notice me. I felt like a ghost who was haunting the building.

The rest of the day wasn’t any different. I was too shy to go talk with strangers, and no one was interested in starting a conversation with me. I had no idea why the loneliness was wearing me down so much. Maybe it was because I’d had fun with Max the previous day, and now I was alone again.

I wondered if Max remembered his promise to go buy some camping equipment for himself after his practice. When the last bell rang, I gathered my things and headed to the football field. There was a huge crowd of students on the bleachers. Some of them were doing their homework with their friends, and some were watching the team doing their warm-ups.

I found an empty corner and sat down to watch. I saw Max at the other side of the field with a couple of his teammates. Wherever he went, there was always a bunch of people following him. I wondered what it was like to have so many friends.

If only I had even one friend. It would be more than enough for me. Just someone to talk to and hang out at school. Maybe even after school.

“Hey, Sky.”

I snapped out of my thoughts when Max stopped right in front of me. I saw his friends waiting for him a few steps away, looking annoyed when I interrupted their jogging.

I looked back at Max, who had a friendly smile on his face.

“H-Hi,” I said.

“Are you still up for that shopping trip at the mall after I’m finished here?” Max asked.

“Y-Yeah...” I nodded.

I had a blush forming on my cheeks, and it made me even more anxious. I knew people were watching us, wondering why someone like Max was wasting his time with someone like me.

“Are you going to stay here and wait for me, or should we meet at the mall or something?” Max asked.

“I can wait,” I said hastily. “I know nothing about football, but I want to learn.”

“I can teach you someday,” Max said and turned around when he heard someone calling him. “Wait for me here, I’ll come get you once this is over,” he turned to tell me before he returned to his friends.

It was funny how just a few little words could make my day. I instantly forgot how miserable I’d been the whole day. Max still remembered I existed! He wanted to spend his time with me! I couldn’t have been happier about it.

I watched the team starting their practice. I had seen a few football games before, but I never understood what was so fascinating about running around the field with a weird-looking ball under their arm. They kept yelling some weird words and pushing each other onto the ground while trying to catch the guy who was holding the ball. Why did people find it entertaining to watch players getting hurt? I just couldn’t understand it.

An hour later, the team limped to change their clothes. I stayed in my seat and waited for Max to come get me, but it took a long time before he returned to the field. He waved at his friends before he ran slowly to me with a big smile on his face.

“Did you learn anything?” he asked, stopping in front of me.

“I learned that football is a violent game,” I said.

Max laughed cheerily at my words. He was fresh from the shower, which explained why it had taken him so long to come back.

“It’s not that bad. If you want, I can explain it to you,” he said.

Football wasn’t something I cared about, but he had listened to me ranting about pigeons, so I nodded, and tried to look interested.

“All right,” he said with a smile and gestured at me to follow him. “Come, I’ll tell you all about it while we walk.”

If I was completely honest with myself, I would’ve listened to him in any case. I would’ve listened even if he talked about fashion or something else I didn’t understand. I was more than happy just to be able to walk right next to him and have all his attention to myself.