"Hey mom." I shout as I enter the house. The living room is bright, lit up by a warm white colour. Both mom and my brother George are sitting on the shaky dining table chatting and sharing about their day.
"My teacher taught us how to make a circuit today!" George displays it proudly.
I lie on the sofa after I shower, "Yes, I know. Isn't it amazing." I respond with a quiet tone as I emerge myself into mom's laptop, "Wait, the new episode has been uploaded. Do you want to watch?"
The protagonist is apparently dying. Their love will come to a dead-end. Yet they did not give up on one another. Why would someone find love so desperately where they do not belong? It seems to be that the conflict begins in the books, movies as soon as they meet one another. Apparently people tend to pursue something that they are not made to. Maybe, that is a problem, even for me.
"What do you do in a class where no one likes you?" I ask aloud to no one.
Mom offers me a hug. "This won't happen, at least you know you like yourself. Right? Not everyone will dislike you." She is warm and smells like freshly baked cupcakes. The wind from the ceiling fan soothes me and the feeling of being cared for comforts me. At least my other friends in the orchestra are nice. Maybe I really should not care what my classmates think of me. This includes James.
---
I am in Burger King sharing a table with Emma and Sophia, my two best friends from orchestra from a different class. For Sophia's Birthday we received a special spicy burger 'cake' for free. It honestly looks nothing like a cake, just a giant hamburger composed of several smaller ones. There are two other guys that are joining this party.
Candies are floating on Sophia's smartphone. Both of them are touching the screen as fast as possible to collect a highscore of candies.
"What's the use? Even if you collect it, you won't get to eat it." I pat on their backs. The time ran out and they collected two-hundred-seventy-three candies.
"Aw, we almost got it." Sophia glares in my direction requesting a hug. "See, we made a bet with the guys that we can surpass their high score by this weekend. If I win they will give me ten dollars."
"This is a big bet though. What is the high score?" I embrace Sophia, who is shorter and much thinner than myself. She holds onto my back, something typical that she does when she feels sad.
Sophia comes from a higher income family, although not as rich as my classmates but she is well off. She is different. She doesn't look down on anyone and appreciates other people while giving them support when they need it. I think this stems from her family's culture, which is warm and caring.
"Two hundred-eighty." Two guys stand behind me, answering in a typical puberty-ridden voice.
Both appear to be more than 1.75 meters. The right guy wears a necklace and some rings on the index and middle fingers. The other smiles brightly at me. He doesn't wear any accessories, and reasonably, he doesn't need any. Just his smile makes me vulnerable, eager to agree to anything he asks for.
"Oh hey you guys!" Sophia stands straight, pulling away from my hug, addressing both the visitors, "Is everything alright? You guys are a bit late." She twists her hair as she speaks in a sweet angelic voice.
"Yeah we are fine." The left guy responds quickly as he holds her, "Happy Birthday."
We chorus, "happy birthday Sophia!"
"Thanks. You all are the best." Sophia laughs and holds on to my left arm and faces the two guys, "Sam, Kevin, this is Jessica. We all call her Jess." She looks me in the eye and continues, "Jess, these are the best guys in my class, Sam and Kevin."
"Nice." I pull out two chairs, gesturing to them to settle down. Kevin lands on the chair right beside me as we light the candles and Sophia makes her wish.
Five of us chat with each other in groups of two and three. Sophia is extra bouncy and excited today. When she unwraps my present she almost teared as she realizes I gifted her the teddy bear which she lost in Spring camp. Emma is very supportive and helps everyone order and collect drinks.
Kevin is the guy standing on the left with a wide and bright smile. He has a dimple on the right side, stressing the cuteness that I already sense from him. We first discussed how we hate Maths and love History class, then I gradually relaxed my body, truly enjoying the conversation.
"So Jess, where do you live?" He asks. Whenever he talks, he gives me all of his attention, digesting every bit of information carefully and trying to be supportive with his respomses. He grabs his coke and takes a large sip.
"I live uptown. You know that area where there are a bunch of residential communities and the largest libraries, it's right there." Talking to Kevin almost doesn't require any energy, it is simple, relatable. Everything feels right, like I can never make a mistake or misjudgement when I am with him.
"Oh, is it where there are a bunch of Family Marts gathered together? I live there too." He flips open his phone. It is one that you can fold and keep in your pocket. Half of it is a touch screen, the other half has buttons on it. He searches the map and passes the phone to me, "Here, right? The library that you mentioned."
"Yeah! Yeah! Oh wow!" I gasp. The area is quite far away from school and it is hard to imagine someone apart from me travelling on the same bus everyday to and from school. I point on the map indicating the precise location of my neighborhood.
"Yes. Actually it is quite unexpected that there is someone living there. Our school accepts students based on the area of residence, right? So I moved there only recently." He nods, and presses the magnifying glass icon to zoom in. He then moves the map around and rests the tip of his index finger on the opposite neighbourhood, his nails are nicely trimmed and his hand is slender with the bones clearly seen, "I live here. We can totally go to school together now!"
"Uh huh." I nod in agreement. I have been commuting on my own for quite a while now, and it is wonderful to finally have some company, some strength and motivation even to go to school, "But do you take the bus? My mom doesn't drive."
"Yes. I have lived alone ever since my parents moved to the states earlier this year. It would be great to have your company." He offers me a big-warm smile, "We should exchange contacts so we can be connected."
"Sure." I nervously spell out my phone number on the dialing pad. Well, this is some feeling I can never receive in my class, and I really love it. It is the feeling of being appreciated and respected. Not judged by my appearance or parents' income, "Thank you so much!"