Chapter 2

                                    

                                          
The rest of September brought cooler weather and the freshman sports festival. The change in temperature was easily dealt with but the festival was another story. Two classes would team up and participate in ten challenges against nine other teams. The challenges would be decided by the school staff and it was mandatory. Of course, it had to be mandatory. It didn't matter if you had no skill in sports whatsoever, everyone expected you to participate. Jacob's homeroom class was informed of this after the first week of school. At least he would be teaming up with Mark's class. That made it a bit easier. He also loved being outside. Maybe this isn't going to be so bad, he thought. The sports were announced during the fifth period: A three-legged race, a human letter challenge, a sponge race, a bean bag toss, and a few others.
                          
"Don't worry, The rules will be explained during the festival," Mark told him at lunch. "Wanna be partners?"
                          
"Partners?"
                          
"Yeah. You need to choose a partner to do the activities with."
                          
"Oh," Jacob took a bite of his sandwich, "then sure."
                          
"Aw yeah!" Mark cheered. "Hey Tina, Alex!" He called the two girls over. They were sitting at a table a few feet away.
                          
"Did you find a partner?" Tina asked.
                          
" You bet I did!" He put an arm around Jacob who flinched. He squeezed his eyes shut and his shoulders tensed. "You'd better get ready to get your butts kicked!"
                          
"Oh, it's so on!" Alex said as she high fived Tina. "Um, dude? You good?"
                          
Jacob looked up his shoulders still up to his ears. "Yeah, sorry. Habit. C-could you- um..." Mark removed his arm from Jacob's shoulders and apologized quickly.
                          
"Hey," Mark said as he tried to break the silence. "Do you guys want to come over my place after school? I've already invited Dan and Toby."
                          
Alex shrugged. "Sure, I could use the walk."
                          
"Yeah! I'll come!" Tina shouted. Jacob flinched again.
                          
Mark looked at him and smiled gently. "Wanna come?"
                          
Jacob looked at his smile and thought how rare it was for him. It was rare to see someone smile at him like this. A genuine smile. He relaxed a little and managed a nod. The smile widened when he did.
                          
"Great," Mark said. "Let's meet at the front."
                          
"Awesome!" Tina fist bumped the air. "We're going to go back to our table now. See you guys later!" The boys said their goodbyes and went back to eating. Jacobs' hand was in his pocket again. He felt the smooth box with his shaky fingers.
                          
"Sorry for making you uncomfortable back there," Mark said. "I didn't know." Jacob shrugged and squeezed the box tighter. He didn't think he could reply without his voice shaking.
                          
"It's ok if you want to take the box out. I don't think many people would mind." He looked at Mark, smiled, and took out the music box. Just looking at it made him feel better.
                          
"Thanks." He said as he relaxed all the way.
                          
"Anytime. I'll help you out with the touching thing if you want. It's up to you"
                          
"S-sure. That would be nice actually." The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.
"I'm off to gym!" Mark said as he packed up his lunch container. "See you soon!"
                          
"Ok," Jacob said as he did the same. "Bye!"
                          
Art class wasn't so bad. The teacher would give them an assignment, play quiet music, and the class would normally be silent as they worked. Today the art teacher let them create whatever they wished as long as they used something other than a pen or pencil to do it. Jacob decided to paint a flower using watercolors. His mom loved to paint and he watched her often as she did. He got out the materials and started to work. He had to ask to sit in the back at one point because other people would look over his shoulder to see his painting. Despite his discomfort, he was eventually able to finish and turn it in. He liked the feeling of accomplishment that he got after putting it on the drying rack. It was by far his favorite class.