as soon as the bell rang, tord slipped his arms through his backpack straps and walked out of the class, gaze fixed on his shoes.
matt watched him go, pouting. aw, i wanted to talk to him more. he soon shrugged it off and smiled. "oh, well! another time." he told himself aloud, earning weird looks.
he looked down at his schedule paper. the next class was math in room 403. matt hopped out of his seat and began his next search through the halls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
matt entered the outside lunch area, a large stretch of blacktop with rows of benches and occasionally a table. some dying trees spotted the area, an obvious failed attempt at making the school look neater.
he scanned the area, eyebrows furrowed. matt shrugged softly and started heading to an empty table, soon gasping excitedly when he saw tord sitting against the wall next to one of the dying shrubbery.
"hey! tord!" matt sprinted towards him, waving his arms.
tord looked up and brushed his bangs out of his face in order to know who was so happy to see him. he cringed after he realized it was matt and looked down at his lap in embarrassment.
"tord! tord, hey!" matt called, getting nearer to him.
matt's calls caught a crowd of popular kids' attention. one shot out his foot right as matt ran past him, the whole group laughing as they watched matt trip and fall, landing on his hands and knees.
matt squeaked in shock. a sting of pain shot through his whole body, leaving a dull ache in his palms and knees. he got up and looked over at the kid who'd done it. matt smiled at him and laughed with them. their laughing died off and they gave matt confused, even slightly afraid, looks.
matt giggled to himself as he turned and continued going to tord, now walking. he finally reached the norwegian and sat criss-cross in front of him.
"heya, tord!"
tord eyed him up and down, clearly shocked. he put down the bag of chips he'd been eating and looked for something to say. "how.." his voice died off and he shook his head as if to say 'never mind.'
matt brushed off tord's shy attitude with a laugh. "anyway, i couldn't help but notice you're all alone here," he explained. "do you have any friends?"
tord rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "no." he murmured.
"i don't either!" matt gasped, leaning in with shining eyes. he leaned back again and crossed his arms. "well, actually, the whole world is my friend. even if it doesn't treat me like one. but we could be friends, if you want?" he grinned hopefully, leaning in again.
"i, uh.." tord tried to avoid matt's gaze but he found himself getting drawn into those starry, sea-green pools. "o- okay."
matt clapped his hands and squealed. "yes!" he threw his arms in the air. "we can do sooo many fun things! like- like i could teach you how to knit, maybe, if you don't already know! or even-"
the brit was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing. tord internally sighed in relief. he didn't think he could handle matt rambling, he thought as he stood up and picked up his things.
"we're gonna be great friends, tord! what's your next class?"
"..history."
"mine, too!"
tord stifled a sigh, walking next to matt as he decided to show him where the class was.
at least he wouldn't look like such a loner now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the two boys sat at the back of the bus together, the air filled with chatter from students excited to go home after a long day at school.
"how long have you lived in this town?" matt asked tord, eyes wide curiously.
tord twirled the wire of his red headphones and shrugged silently. "my whole life."
"that's pretty great," matt smiled kindly. "i'm new, obviously. my dad's in the military so we move around a lot. i usually don't make friends, but now i have you!" he wrapped his arms around tord's smaller body and pulled him into a tight, friendly embrace.
tord winced and felt heat rise to his face. he faced down, trying to hide his flustered expression. "y- yeah."
matt let out a bubbly laugh and let go of him, the view outside catching his attention.
tord sighed in relief at matt's short attention span and pulled his hood over his head, now embarrassed. why's he gotta be so touchy-feely? he wondered, soon regretting the thought. i should cut him some slack. he's been super nice to me the whole day, unlike everyone else at school. he admired matt from the corner of his eye and chewed the inside of his lip. he's so confident even though everybody already hates him. how does he-
the bus screeched to a stop, cutting off tord's thoughts. he got up, eyes widening in surprise once matt got up too.
"we have the same stop!" matt gasped, grabbing tord's hands. "we have so much in common!" he laughed and started leading him down the aisle.
tord's face burned dark red again. people whispered to each other and stared at them. an uneasy feeling grew in his stomach, knowing rumors were already being spread. now i remember why i don't make friends.
matt hopped out of the bus, oblivious. tord landed unsteadily next to him and took off his headphones so they now hung around his neck.
"where do you live?" matt asked with a smile.
tord pointed to the left and noticed matt's expression turn to one of slight disappointment.
"i live over there." matt stated, pointing to the right. his smile returned, however. "but we're nearby!"
tord nodded in acknowledgment. he gave matt a small wave and turned in the direction of his own home, beginning to walk.
"bye!" matt waved happily. he skipped towards his house, humming a happy tune.