71. I really like you.

Mia.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock buzzing. It was a school day and I had to get ready quickly so I brushed my teeth, got dressed, and headed downstairs, Diego and Ms. Elena were already eating breakfast when I got there and I simply asked Mrs. Cali to pack mine. As soon as I got dropped off at school, I could already see Andrew waiting at the entrance but I did not want to conclude yet that it was for me because each day, I keep thinking that he would change his mind concerning this friendship thing that we got going.

We had become inseparable since I got discharged and resumed back at school. We even had a nickname - the cleaning couple - because we cleaned the toilets together after school for the past three days, it was part of his punishments for some graffiti that he had drawn on school walls. But lately, I had been worried that Andrew might start to not like me anymore. His social standing had decreased since we became friends, and I didn't want to drag him down, I did not think that this friendship of ours was worth his former friendships and normal popularity butI have been keeping this worry to myself.

I walked up to him with knots in my stomach, “hey,” I greeted and he immediately swung his arm over my shoulder like he would usually do these days.

“Hy, Mia. How was the weekend? I texted you yesterday and I did not get any response,” he said to me and soon we were both engulfed in a conversation. Even while his friends greeted and fist bumped him here and there and the girls kept whistling and complimenting him, he only looked away from me for a second to reply them all and then he is immediately back to speaking to me.

To be honest, this attention that he was bestowing on me was very new and overwhelming because I had not gotten that kind of attention for people my age before, everybody always seemed to just act like I was invisible and even the people that gave me attention did it the negative way. But with Andrew, it all seemed so different, so unreal which makes it harder for me to believe that it was a friendship that was going to last for any reason at all.

During lunch at the cafeteria which we now both sit at a table together, I decided to share my worries with him. "Andrew, do you think you still like me or even want this friendship or are you just here because you sort of pity me?" I asked him.

He laughed and threw his arm around my neck. "What are you talking about, Mia? What friendship,I thought we are not just friends anymore, aren’t we way past that? We are dating," he said, smiling at me and I was confused yet somewhat elated.

I pretended to be angry and shrugged him off. "What do you mean, dating? You never even asked me out, are you out of your mind?" I said, trying to hide my excitement.

“Oh! That is so true, well, I plan on going to the beach on Saturday, would you like to come along with me? It’s a date.” He blurted out without even bothering to think about it and I could no longer conceal my teenage glee as I said yes instantly.

I could not help but have a constant smile on my face after that, I was very I must have looked like a total idiot with the stupid grin on my face, but I couldn't help it. I was just so happy. As I walked down the hallway to the next class after he said he would meet me there since we both had geography together, I felt like everyone was staring at me. Maybe they knew what had just happened? Maybe they could tell that I had just been asked out by Andrew? I didn't care. I was just so excited. I felt like I was walking on air, like nothing could ever bring me down now no matter how hard they tried.

I could not wait for Saturday! I was already planning my outfit, my hair, and my everything in my head.

Soon, I was in class and just when Andrew manages to slip in at the late hour, the geography teacher walks in too, this caused Andrew to wink at me as he knew that he just escaped been locked out, and I smiled while trying not to blush.

The geography teacher was a middle-aged man with a round face, a receding hairline, and thin-rimmed glasses that always seem to be perched on the edge of his nose. He had a serious look about him, and he always spoke in a calm, measured tone, but he had a subtle sense of humor that comes out in his occasional quips. He was a stickler for rules and punctuality, and he expects his students to be well-prepared for his class.

The class started and in between, and Laura, one of the twins who always bully me was being called up to outline the route of the Mississippi river. She was seated directly in front of me, and when she stood up, I immediately noticed that she had just got her period. She was wearing white shorts, and the stain was evident for anyone who was looking straight at her.

I knew how embarrassing it could be, so I immediately stood up and rushed to the front to answer the question without thinking, “uhm... I will answer the question sir,” I suddenly said with a raised voice.

“I did not call on you though, did I? Since when do you get so eager to just answer questions on behalf of someone?” He questioned me. “I... I just want to be the one to show it, that’s all.” I quickly made up something to say.

“Whatever, just show us the outline then, will you? We don’t have all the time in the world.”

I looked back at the projector and back at the teacher and also as the classroom as I knew that I had no idea at all about where this darn outline or whatever could be. It was starting to seem like I was spending years standing before the classroom like a dimwit before h spoke up again, “oh! let me guess, you do not know where it is? Yet, you rushed out of your seat over here like you had some tangible answer to give us. Go back to your seat, Ferrari, and don’t even think of disrupting my class like that again.” He scolded me and the class erupted into laughter while I walked back to my seat, he then called on somebody else to do it.

Laura had also noticed that she was stained and was visibly upset by it. I took off my sweater and handed it to her with a smile. She looked very surprised and a little suspicious. "Why are you helping me?" She asked.

I shrugged, “Well, not everyone is so mean like you are so just take the darn thing before I change my mind.” I said to her and she scoffed at me, just before snatching the sweater away from my hands, “for your information, do not think that this changes anything between us, don’t try to act familiar with me all because of this, we are still not friends, neither would we ever be.” She said to me.

“You say that like I want to be friends with you in the first place, you are not all that, Laura, get over yourself and learn to say thank you when you are helped! It would not melt the makeup on your face if you do so.” I said to her but she merely looked away, tied the sweater around her waist and then asked for permission to visit the restroom.

I stared at her figure as she sauntered out of the classroom and I rolled my eyes, “should have let the bitch show off her red bottoms to the classroom and get laughed at too, too much for trying to help.” I said to myself.

After school, while I was waiting for Aunt Elena to come and pick me up, Andrew started a conversation about what happened in class.”What was that, Mia? You literally gave your sweater to Laura?” He asked, looking bewildered. I shrugged, well, I did. Even though her mean ass does not deserve kindness, I could not help but think about ‘what if that was me?’ so regardless of who she is, I just did the same thing that I would have done for anybody.” I told him.

“Wow! You have such a beautiful heart, that’s so kind of you, you strictly followed the saying to be kind to everyone regardless of their attitudes, that’s such a rare and cool thing to do. You are literally the definition of beauty inside and outside.” Andrew praised me and I could not stop blushing. "I really like you, Mia," he added, smiling at me.

I did not say anything and we ended up sitting in silence for a while until the driver arrived with Ms. Elena. Andrew and I said goodbye and I headed home, feeling happy and excited about our date on Saturday.