“So what was that important?” Arlo stopped in the corridor.

“Who was that guy?” Jenny looked in the direction of his classroom.

“Just some guy I met in the park.” Arlo shrugged his shoulders.

“He was sooo cool!” Arlo could literally see sparks in her eyes.

“He’s just some rich upper class guy, not for you, and he seems to be weird.” For some reason Arl felt angry about her interest in Tod.

“Anyway, what did you want from me just a moment ago?” He decided to get back to their main topic.

“What?” Jenny was still in a daze.

“Jenny, get a hold of yourself!” Arlo grabbed her hand.

“Oh, right. Some girls in my class wanted to know you, so come with me.” Jenny was excited and Arlo had no heart to deny her anything.

The day went smoothly and Arlo learned a few new people, except for the girls from Jenny’s class. He even had an appointment on Saturday with Dan and Rob from his class. Jenny was gone with Elena and Arlo was walking slowly back home. He was deep in his thoughts when a black sport’s car with an open roof stopped next to him. 

“Need a ride?”

It was Tod. Arlo didn’t feel like going with him but on the other hand there was no need to be gruff at somebody who was trying to act friendly.

“Well actually I live close by, in those blocks.” Arlo pointed at the three towering buildings in front of them.

“I could show you the city?” Tod wasn’t easy to shake off so Arlo decided to give it a go. After all, he has never been in such a car before.

“All right.” Arlo jumped in.

Tod smiled and stepped on the gas making the car roar and the wind mess with Arlo’s hair. Honestly it was awesome. The speed, the feeling of thrill and the way Tod was driving was really satisfying.

“This car is amazing!” Arlo couldn’ t hold back his excitement. 

“I’m glad you like it. Want to go really fast?” 

“Not sure, you might get a fine for speeding or something.” Arlo decided to play safe, he didn’t want Tod to get in trouble because of him.

“No worries. Fasten your seatbelt!”

The car was driving even faster than before, at some point Arlo was laughing out loud seeing how they were passing every car on their way. 

“Man you crazy, I’m sure it’s not allowed.” Despite the warning Arlo didn’t feel like slowing down but eventually they did and Tod started to explain to him some interesting places in the town.

“You know what Arlo, we can hang out on Saturday.” He suggested at the end of his speech.

“Sorry I can’t. I already have an appointment with Dan and Rob.” Arlo felt a bit awkward refusing the invitation.

“I see, you quickly make friends, hmm. Well can’t be helped then. Give me your phone. I will leave you my number. Call me if you change your mind.” Tod stretched his hand and Arlo obediently handed him his phone.

“Tod, why have you been very nice to me, we barely know each other? ” Arlo decided to finally ask him the question that kept bothering him.

“I used to change places a lot, I know how hard it  is to find friends and you seem like a cool guy.” Tod smiled genuinely  and handed him his phone back.

“Thanx.” Arlo smiled, maybe Tod was just a nice guy and he was just unnecessarily guarded against him. 

“So, see you tomorrow at school.” Arlo got out of the car and put his backpack on.

“Yeah, see you.” Tod waved him goodbye and started the car.

Arlo was watching him for a moment and then headed back home. He still felt the thrill of the ride, Tod’s car was so cool, Tod was fine too. Maybe this whole moving out won’t be such a disaster after all? For a moment his thoughts came back to Matt and his friends. He decided to text them and even made a selfie using the block of flats where he lives as a background.

As soon as he opened the door he heard mother laughing. She was talking with dad and seemed to be very excited. It had been a while since Arlo heard her laugh like that.

“Arlo you’re back! How was your first day at school?” Mom asked right away.

“It was fine, better than I thought.” Arlo put his bag down and took off his jacket.

“And the teachers, classmates?” Mom inquired further.

“They are OK, I even have plans for the weekend.” Arlo smiled and poured himself some juice from the fridge.

“That’s great son.  Mom has some good news too.” Dad stood up and patted Arlo on his back.

Arlo, still drinking, looked at mom who was beaming with joy.

“I was offered a job today, I will work part time in a bookstore.” Her face brightened with a huge smile. Mom was passionate about books so this offer was simply perfect and right on time.

“That's cool mom. Congrats!”

“Yeah, I guess it’s only going to be better now.” Mom started preparing the dinner humming some happy tunes.

During dinner dad handed Arlo and Jenny pocket money as he received an advance. It was a while since Arlo got any money from dad and Jenny almost screamed from joy. Yeah it seems that everything is going to change for the better.

The gate opened automatically and the wide drive led Tod into the big garage. Passing the splendid rose bushes which were mom’s source of pride, he parked his car next to the others owned by his family and stepped out. The smiling face of that cute boy was still fresh in his mind. Those dimples and the way he laughed was simply adorable. It was all going really smoothly, just as he planned, well almost. Tod took out his phone and chose a number, after a short signal it was picked up.

“Hi Dan, we need to talk.”