With a straighter posture, Timothy hopped into Sarah’s car, breakfast burritos in hand. Sarah wasted no time and opened the foil and took a bite. This new morning ritual has become the favorite part of her day.

  “Can you play your music?”

  Timothy turned to her with excitement. “Yeah.” Music kicked in as soon as his hand swiped across the display.

  “It’s pleasant," she said as the lyrics came in.

  Timothy’s voice, as breath-heavy as usual, came off softer and in key. His voice meshed well with the higher-pitched guitars and saxophone.

  Walking by or driving past, my words never reach. Yellow as the sun, you cheer for your speech.

  “When did you make this song?”

  “Early last year, in music.”

  The beat picked up, and it stirred an all too familiar feeling. At a stop sign, the song played clapping hands that followed a cheer they do at a football game, and it matched the beat.

  “So you have been to a game?”

  He continued facing straight. “Yeah. Sorry, but I wanted to see you.”

  “And…?” She waited for him to say anything else. “And you wrote this song thinking of…?” She pointed to herself with a massive grin on her face.

  “Yeah.”

  That warmed her heart, knowing he had written an entire song about her. “How many games did you go to?”

  “One last year, and one this year.” His face burned red.

  It looks like he did some research on writing his song. She didn’t want to tease him anymore, and considering the actual stalkers she’d had, she’d take this over all of that. Once, the police had to get involved when a boy tried to bribe the school to get him to be in all the same classes as her. Another boy kept pacing about her car after school junior year, but would bolt every time he spotted her. But was Sarah any different? Shit. She wasn’t.

  “We tried to get each other's attention in roundabout ways,” Sarah said. It seems he had good intentions behind seeing her last year at a game. And the song came out well. Did those other boys have good intentions as well? She didn’t want to think about it.

  But he created something. Not once had Liam or Alex done an act like this. Doing something great and not telling anyone is so Timothy. At the next stop, the turn before school, she hugged him.

  “Yeah,” he breathed as they pulled into the parking lot.

  Sarah walked into Math class alone. Ignoring Liam as she walked by. Mr. Witman noticed this and kept his mouth shut not to stir up the class. Liam hadn’t said anything to him, and his parents didn’t see the entire altercation. They figured it was something Timothy triggered when he danced with his girlfriend.

  Mr. Witman continued his usual morning setup to Timothy, giving him easy questions to answer in front of the class.

  Later, gym wasn’t so easy. Flag football was just a cheap formality. Liam knocked Timothy over multiple times, despite Sarah’s disdain.

  The gym teacher ignored it every time. “It builds character,” he’d say.

  The last time Timothy got knocked over, he spoke instead of taking it. “We’re just friends,” he said.

  Liam didn’t bother finishing the run with the ball towards the end zone. He dropped the ball and approached Timothy. “What was that?” Liam towered over Timothy, both vertically and horizontally.

  “There’s no need to get mad at me. Sarah is just a friend.”

  That irked her.

  “Yeah no shit. No one would date a loser.”

  “Maybe if you weren’t so erratic, she wouldn’t have dumped you.”

  The students weren’t lining up again with the ball at the line of scrimmage. The gym teacher watched closely as many teachers enjoyed a bit of drama in their days. Plus, it was Liam, his star player.

  “We wouldn’t have broken up if that cunt didn’t cheat on me.”

  Timothy’s instincts kicked in, for the first time, and he hit Liam. Which, didn’t accomplish a damn thing. Some students chuckled at the weak attempt, like a kid hitting a tree. Sarah ran between the two. “Stop it, both of you.”

  Liam laughed and pushed him down with one arm, crossing as if it was nothing.

  “Liam!”

  The gym teacher blew the whistle. “Tim, principal's office, now.”

  “What?” Timothy was still on the ground, shaking off the grass. “Why?”

  “You got physical. You started the fight. Go change and then straight to the principal’s.”

  Dejected, he got up, with Sarah trying to help despite not needing it, and went inside and straight to the locker room.

  ***

  Timothy remained silent with his hands in his lap, eyes down at the large table.

  “A fight?” The principal’s mouth dropped like a cartoon character. “You? A fight? Timothy Kline?”

  He clutched his book bag on his lap. “I was defending my friend’s honor, sir.”

  That surprised him. “Which friend would that be?”

  “Sarah.”

  A short burst of laughter was stopped as soon as the principal realized he needed composure at school. “Alright. I can respect that. The gym teacher said I should go easy on you. So I will. Just one day of detention, four hours after school, what day works for you?”

  “Um. Today?”

  “I’ll see you here at 2:45.”

  ***

  Mrs. Witman ran her class with a snap of anger. Responses and directions of hers were short. Usually, she’d give long, detailed answers about the literature they’re learning. But today was not that day. And the class felt it.

  One of the student’s phones buzzed. Mrs. Witman twitched her head in the direction. Looking right at Timothy. “Answer it or get a suspension,” she said.

  Except, it wasn’t Timothy. Perturbed, hoping she could humiliate him, continued to tell the boy next to him to answer it or face suspension.

  The student in question sat between Timothy and Sarah, who slowly pulled his phone out and answered it. “Hello,” he said.

  “Put it on speaker,” Mrs. Witman said.

  He tapped it on, and a friend of his apparently spoke on the other end.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “...I lost the USB drive with all the titty fucking videos on it. Bro. Send another one.”

  The class about began laughing, but Mrs. Witman zipped them all up with a quick hand gesture.

  “You there, dude?”

  “Yeah,” the student next to Sarah said.

  “Can you copy some more of those videos. My dad still has the router blocking all the porn sites.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Leave your hentai out this time.”

  The boy blushed. “I don’t know what that is.”

  “Cartoon porn, dude.”

  Chuckles went off.

  “Can we talk text next time?”

  “My dad checks all of that. Later dude.”

  The boy hung up his phone and slowly, very slowly, slid it back into his pocket.

  Mrs. Witman, without a change of facial expression, told him, “If that phone buzzes again, I’m tossing it out a window.” The boy nodded, then his phone buzzed again. Mrs Witman rolled her eyes and placed her head in her hand, sighing. “Answer it.”

  The boy shook his head.

  “Now.”

  Slowly, very slowly, he pulled his phone out and answered it. “Hello.”

  “Yo, dude.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Actually, copy some of the hentai over.”

  “Ok.”

  “Thanks, dude. I owe you.”

  “Please don’t mention it.” And they hung up. Again, he slowly put the phone away in his pocket.

  Without skipping a beat, Mrs. Witman gave an assignment, a partnered report on the differences between urban and Western American literature.

  Sarah’s phone buzzed. “Want to partner?” That surprised her. He’s never initiated a text. Not once.

  “Of course :)”

  Her phone buzzed again. “I have detention today after school, I can walk home.”

  She smirked, the thought of Timothy being in detention was like a flower surviving in a volcano. “What time do you get out?”

  “7:30.”

  “See you at 7:30.”

  Sarah hid her phone from Mrs. Witman like a pro. And with Timothy in the back, she’d never spot him. “Can you let Twain out? No worries if it’s too much to ask.” An opportunity presented itself. Will she get to go into his house alone? “I’ll give you the key after class.”

  ***

  “What is going on?” Alicia plopped down next to Sarah with her food. The girls all looked at her.

  Sarah initially didn’t realize it was about her, then said, “What?”

  “You haven’t apologized yet.”

  “For?”

  “You slapped me!”

  The other girls at the table kept side-eyeing the two. Sarah had forgotten about slapping her best friend as she had been focused on other things. “Oh, right. You’re still mad about that?” They’ve had plenty of fights before, like when she went after Liam during her first breakup with him. She didn’t slap her then, but the verbal argument felt physical and lasted for weeks.

  “Yes! And you’ve been ignoring everyone’s texts.”

  “Been busy.”

  “Just apologize. That hurt.”

  “Did you apologize to Timothy?”

  “For?”

  That made Sarah mad. “Don’t for me. You deserved to be slapped.”

  Alicia slammed her tray. “No, I didn’t. Can you eat somewhere else?”

  Sarah looked to her other friends. No one was saying anything or defending one or the other. “Any thoughts?” Most of her friends at the table were also on the cheer squad.

  “It’s probably best if you eat somewhere else for now.” Someone piped in. “You did slap her.”

  Alicia smirked. She’s never won against Sarah. One standing in a shadow never does. Alicia nodded, hinting to Sarah she needed to leave.

  Sarah stood and left. Not perturbed in particular, but a slight annoyance. Looking around the cafeteria, she spotted an opening. There sat a group of boys playing chess with several empty chairs. She walked over, passing a dozen tables and a hundred students, and took a chair, garnering optimistic looks from the chess players. Some other girls followed her, and a chasm of students and cafeteria tables separated the popular girls into two groups. She figured she’d try to text Timothy, but her friends began speaking immediately and interrupting the boys playing chess.

  “That was so… stupid of Alicia.”

  “Yeah, she’s just been jealous.”

  “She always has been.”

  “We’d never leave you for Alicia.”

  She smiled as she ate.

  After school, she stepped into his home alone. His dog greeted her, and she did what was requested, and then some, hoping to gain more trust with him. She took Twain on a walk to the park nearby, found a good angle, and took a selfie, making sure the canine looked good next to her, to send to him.

  No response. She figured it was because of detention and finished the walk. After a game of tug-of-war, she decided to invade a little of his privacy. She’s been in his room once before, but now wants to be in it.

  The first thing she noticed was that the synthesizer grew, an additional block with wires attached stood next to the original. It looks to her like Timothy has been busy producing more music. She perused his shelf. Books and books, mostly sci-fi, and photos. Most are of his dog. But one was different, one that hung on the wall she spotted while dancing with him after homecoming, the one with his dad. The frame around it told Sarah it was a gift, and it was of Mrs. Kline, a baby, and a man with a well-trimmed beard.

  A baby photo.

  Damn, she thought. Timothy was cute, adorable, and he held a smile so wide that it made her want to hug the picture. That must be his dad. From what Timothy has told her, that might be the only photo of them as a family before he left them. She plopped onto his bed and pondered. It must’ve been hard for him. As she stretched her hand, she brushed against a book. She picked it up, the cover said How to Talk to Girls. Very on point, and probably matched the exact phrase he searched for online.

  As she flipped through the pages, she spotted a headline. How to Stop Mansplaining. She chuckled, flipped through more pages, Avoid the Ick. More pages flipped, and her thumb caught a bent corner. The last spot he read. The headline said How to Know She Likes You. The passage clearly shows that a secret formula did not exist, that all girls are different, and that the simple solution was to simply ask her.

  That got her excited. She’s said it before. But like her mom said, he probably doesn’t take acceptance well, and if he asked, then he might believe her. Communication with Timothy has been a one-way street, and now Timothy may try more talking and more initiative, like she's used to with her previous relationships.

  She left the room, grabbed a glass of water, sat at the kitchen table, and started her homework. It looks like Mrs. Kline is having a crockpot meal as the smell permeates the small house. She thought about Mrs. Kline, having a double shift at the hospital, and still providing food for her son, and in many cases, for her with the breakfast burritos and quiches that Timothy brings in.

  She petted Twain and continued her homework.

  ***

  He hopped into her car. “Hey there, troublemaker,” she said.

  He smirked. “Yeah yeah.”

  But he started a fight with her ex, who insulted her. Technically, it is his fault. He got mad and went after someone a lot stronger than him. It aligned with what she witnessed him do about three months ago. He is the man she thinks he is, and she just needs him to clean up a little. Find him some clothes that fit, convince him to do push-ups, and put on skin cream. She had plans for him.

  “Thank you for taking my dog on a walk.” He held his phone up, “And uh, cute photo,” and put it away, embarrassed to look at it with her there.

  “No problem. And thank you for starting a fight for me. It’s hot, but try to avoid fights next time.”

  He just responded, “It was easy,” and went deep into thought.

  She looked him in the eyes and smiled. Hoping for him to ask the question she had seen in the book. “Anything on your mind?”

  With a smile, he said, “Yeah. My mom scheduled an appointment with an oral surgeon for me this week.”

  The brake jolted them both forward a bit. “Really?” Her mom offered to help Kayla pay for the surgery.

  “Yeah. Gonna do that then schedule a date for the surgery.” He choked up. All those years of insults because of his mouth and teeth may end. Unfortunately, it’ll be near the end of his high school tenure. “I don’t believe it. Finally.”

  Not everyone deserves a second chance, but Timothy deserved several, and he did nothing wrong. This was the happiest she’s ever seen him. His gaze was gone, replaced with a genuine smile. The crooked teeth didn’t deter her, nor did his breathing, which always had a deep hum to his constantly open mouth.

  Sarah leaned in and didn’t stop at his surprised flinch. With a gentle hand, she grabbed his chin to turn his head to her, and kissed him. “To celebrate.”

  Insults cut deep. But that kiss healed it all. Was it worth little kids telling him he’s ugly out in public? The Duck Face? The physical abuse, getting chased down by a car Liam drove that one time…

  Yeah. It was.

  Even so, he backed into the corner of the seat, and his heavy breathing got heavier.

  “There would be a lot more of that, but we’re just friends,” she winked.

  After several turns on the way to his home, he composed himself. “That was my first kiss.”

  That tugged on her heart. She hadn’t thought about whether that was his first kiss or not. He looked like he enjoyed it. And he didn’t back away as she approached. Maybe she should have been more tactful about it? “I’m sorry, if I knew I would have—”

  “It was awesome.” He stopped her. “I had no idea. I feel good.”

  She gave a half smile as she pulled up into the driveway. “So the English assignment. How do you want to do this?”

  “One of us can research and the other writes?”

  That plan would be for them to do their separate portions. “How about you find the books and sources while I’m in cheer practice tomorrow? We can do it together at my place afterward. We can pump it out before the week is up.”

  “Sounds good.”