Alex hated to admit it, but school became......not so bad. A few weeks later, he became more comfortable with Max because of her constant presence. She was always with them, him and Noah, during breaks and lunches.

He began talking to her, and effectively Noah, more, and his everyday mood was getting generaly better because of it.  

It wasn't that Alex couldn't pay attention in class that day. He just didn't want to.

About half of his classmates went on a school trip with the older kids, leaving not even 15 people behind for two whole days. Teachers were more relaxed and mostly just repeated previously introduced topics. It was kind of great.

Noah, sitting next to him, also took advantage of the situation. He was on his phone the whole time, scrolling Instagram.

Sometime in the middle of the day, Alex started to notice Max sneaking glances at him during class. And he couldn't figure out why. It made him nervous. It didn't seem Noah noticed it, but Alex was too uncomfortable to share it with him.

The day went by fairly quickly, and soon the three of them were heading out of school. 

"Uh...Alex?" Alex felt a tug on the sleeve of his hoodie. 

"Huh?" He turned to the side and was met with Max's flustered face. "What is-"

"Oh, hi Mom!" Noah suddenly yelled out. He turned towards the parking lot next to the building. There, a woman was waving her car keys in their direction. It was the first time Alex had seen his mom, and it felt kind of strange. Her face looked so much like Noah’s, the color of her hair was also the exact same. The only difference between those two was that she was chubby and very short.

She had a bright dress on, looking sort of odd because of the still chilly weather, but it didn’t take away from the elegant air she had around her.

She started walking towards them, and soon, right in front of them. “Are these your friends? It’s so nice to meet you!” She was just as cheerful.

She reached her hand for a handshake from Alex. He nervously returned it. “Good morn- good afternoon, n-nice to meet you.” He mentally cursed at himself for misspeaking. Ugh…so embarrassing. He felt his face redden.

She was very beautiful, which made him even more nervous.

Whilst Alex was still in his head, Noah’s mom managed to greet Max as well. 

“I would invite you two to get ice cream with us or something, but we’re quite busy today.” She chuckled. 

“...yeah.” Noah sighed. “I have to have my annual check-up with my doctor.” Alex didn't blame him for being unnerved; he'd be the same.

“Oh, well, good luck. See you tommorow.” Max said. Alex noticed she wasn't fully there.

“Yeah, bye guys.” 

Noah’s mom sent both of them a smile, and then they started walking to her car.  

Max and Alex found themselves alone. None of them started talking to one another. 

Alex secretly hoped she’d let him go home despite her strange vibe, but it was clear it wouldn’t be the case. 

“......did you want to talk about something?” he asked quietly. 

Max didn’t meet his awkward gaze. “Let’s go to that bench over there.” She pointed to one under a large tree, conveniently out of the way. 

“Sure.” 

Max didn’t say a word while heading there. It made Alex even more worried, to be honest. Was she mad at him? Why….

Did she expect more of me? After we started talking? 

They sat down, and at the same time, Alex mentally deflated.

This was another one of those situations that’d make Alex realize what an usociable piece of shit he was. And to think I was getting a little better.

“Alex?” Max unsurely touched his arm. 

“...yeah?” 

…here it comes. 

“I want to be more like you. I….I’m so insecure.”