"Does everyone understand the assignment? Remember, this is will be worth quite a lot of your grade this first trimester, so you better do your best, alright?" The class looks frightened at Miss Esther and starts whispering to eachother: "What the fuck is her problem?" "Annoying ass teachers, I swear..." "Can you hop online after school?",... 'Lot of points'? We're not even halfway through september and we're already getting big essays? Doesn't this school realize we have better stuff to do? I still have to finish the 7th page from my comic. While looking dead straight at my desk, I feel Ivan bumping his elbow on my arm. "Don't worry, dude. Writing about someone you look up to is a piece of cake! Just pick someone random you know a lot about, and boom! Done!" he says while looking at me with his hopefull eyes, "I also did this same kind of thing in elementary school. Only difference was that the essay only needed to be like, 200 words? I don't know if you can even call that an essay to be honest... B-but you get the idea right?!" I look back at him and awkwardly smile, then quickly move my head away. It's been a full week since Iván first started talking to me, and frankly I've been dreading to go to school ever since. I've tried saying that I don't want him to follow me all the time but nothing is able to leave this stupid mouth of mine.

  The bell rings. I stuff my backpack with the books I had on my table and leave the classroom. The good thing is that Iván takes a shit ton of time to pack his backpack, which gives me the perfect amount of time to leave the building and grab my bike. That's why the walk to the parking lot is my favorite moment of a schoolday. Finally I'm able to experience the feeling of being alone that I used to have last year. I calmly walk down the hall, and right as I want to take the stairs, I hear jogging in my direction. "Hey, Aylen! Wait for me, dude!" I freeze for a second, and then my head snaps back at the hallway. I see Iván, with his backpack stuffed and barely closed. Iván, why do you have to do this to me? This is the only time of day where I don't need to hear or see youre DUMBASS FACE! My hands start sweating, my legs begin to shake and I'm not able to move a single inch. I see him getting closer and closer, while I feel my soul leaving me more and more. He stops right in front of me (God, this guy stinks). He bends over, puts his hands on his knees and begins breathing loudly. I stare him down with my eyes wide open. "Damn, dude. I really am not made for this sport stuff or whatever. Thanks for waiting on me tho-" My legs immediately start running away. There is NO WAY he's gonna ruin this moment of mine. I aggresively run down the stairs, making a ton of noise every time my foot lands on the ground. Ha, he's so bad at running, I'm sure he won't be able to catch up. I'm sorry Iván, but it's not my fault you still don't get me. I pass a few people on the way to the second floor, and I can feel all their faces glancing at me running by.

  I finally get to the second floor. Nice, I did it! Now I can just take a breather and walk to the last bit of stairs at the end of the hall. The weather outside is weird, it's really sunny but the rain is pouring down like buckets. I can see my glasses reflecting the sunlight from the window. Yes, it's that bright outside. I put my hands in my pockets and calmly walk through the hall. Suddenly, I hear the elevator door next to me ope-. Wait... Elevator?

  "There you are, dude! Why'd you run of like that? You know we have an elevator right?" Iván stands there with his backpack now on his back. SINCE WHEN DID WE HAVE AN ELEVATOR?! IVáN YOU SON OF A BITCH! My eyes get even more wider than before, my hands sweatier, my legs shakier. This time however, instead of freezing for a few seconds, I sprint away. Faster Aylen, FASTER! USE THOSE LITTLE CHICKEN LEGS OF YOURS! "A-Aylen! Again? Really?!" I hear Iván say while running away. I promised myself I wasn't gonna let you ruin my moment of peace, and I'll stand by that. TILL THE VERY E-

  BUMP!!!

  My glasses fly off my face and my whole back drops down on the floor. What just happened? I'm laying on the ground with my head facing the ceiling. Why does it smell like something's burning? I try to look up to see what happened... "ARGH, IT BURNS!" I hear the person in front of me say. I try to squint my eyes to get a sharp view, and then my soul leaves my body... I just bumped into Mister Peterson. Not only that, I see his whole face and hands covered in coffee... "AYLEN, YOU OKAY?" Iván comes running to me. At the same time, I vaguely see a random lady come towards us. "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, KID!? DON'T YOU SEE ME HOLDING MY CUP OF COFFE!" Mister Peterson shouts with immense rage in his voice, "AND WHY WERE YOU EVEN RUNNING IN THE HALL? YOU KNOW THAT'S AGAINST SCHOOL POLICY, RIGHT?" Iván hands me my glasses, but when I put them on, I kinda regret it. I now finally see Mister Peterson's furious, red face covered in hot coffee. The smoke is even coming of him, or maybe that could be because he's mad. "We're so sorry Mister Peterson, are you oka-" Mister Peterson cuts Iván off. "I DON'T NEED A SORRY RIGHT NOW! I NEED A FUCKING NURSE, THIS SHIT BURNS LIKE HELL! ARGH!" C'mon, the coffee couldn't be that hot right? The random lady stands in front of me and Iván, her face almost as red as Mister Peterson's. Not 'cause of hot coffee, though... Yeah, I fucked up. "You there! To the principal's office, right now!" the random lady screamed while pointing at me, "Oh my god Lennie, are you okay? Let me take you to the school nurse, I'll call an ambulance if you want!" She starts rubbing his shoulder. Okay, let's not exaggerate here. I feel bad about bumping into him or whatever, but my reasoning for running was valid. Also, I don't think 'Lennie' needs an ambulance, it's just some coffee. Don't be such a suck-up, random lady. "Ma'am, I feel like I should go with him. We were playing tag and we tend to get really competitive." Iván says to the random lady. "Well, if that's the case then... BOTH OF YOU, TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  'Iván, why are you coming with me? You didn't do shit.' is what I want to ask him, but as usual I got scared. We slowly stroll to the office. He doesn't even seem mad about this. He's sacrificing going home, to go to the principal's office with me and possible get in trouble. I really don't get him. But I guess he doesn't either, so it's only fair. I'm sure I won't be able to talk to the principal, however. The principal I had in middle school left me absolutely traumatized. He once called me into his office for forgetting to flush the toilet, making the whole bathroom smell terrible. I was constantly looking at my lap while he was talking. He started screaming at me because I was too scared to look at him. Just 'cause of that, I got detention for a whole week. Even worse: Many kids had detention that week, so I had to forcefully sit next to some tall ass kid who smelled like Derrick after a night out (in other words: Like dogshit). Maybe it's good Iván is coming. I'll just let him do the talking, as always.

  "Tell me boys, why are you here?" principal Garnier says while looking at us with one eyebrow raised. It gets quiet. I look around his office. It's small, with one wooden table in the middle with a ton of papers and folders on it. There's one window behind him where you would be able to see the kids on the yard. Everyone already left, however. The walls are dark brown, with some random papers on the wall. One of them is a degree of the principal, with next to it an old picture of him and his wife back when they were young, I'm assuming. To be honest, principal Garnier has aged quite well judging from that photo. His hair completely fell off, but his long, gray beard looks clean and well taken care of. He also doesn't have that many wrinkles for his age. Well, I don't know his actual age, but I remember one time when Iván was rambling that he was around 75. How does he know? Don't ask me.

  It's still quiet. I sneakily glance at Iván. Is this guy gonna say something? I though he was the one who decided to come with me, so better start speaking up. I notice him side-eyeing me, but he quickly looks back at the principal. He lets out a small sigh. "We we're playing tag in the school building, and Ay-..." he finnaly starts talking, "... I...bumped into Mister Peterson and made him spill his coffee. The coffee got all over him and was still hot, so he was quite mad." There you go, Iván! Although, he shouldn't have said he bumped into Mister Peterson. What is that gonna do? We're probably still gonna get the same punishment. I guess he does it with the right intention, however. "Well, running down the halls is obviously not allowed to avoid these type of situations. I hope you two now understand now why we don't tolerate it." principal Garnier says with a calm tone. "Yes, sir. I talked to Aylen on the way here and we're both really sorry about it all." I appreciate Iván trying to help me out by talking for us, but he doesn't have to make up all of these lies. Why is he even saying all of this? He already said enough lies by saying he was the one bumping into Mister Peterson. "Did you both apologize to Mister Peterson?" Principal Garnier looks at Iván, then slowly turns his head to me. I quickly look down my lap. Making eye contact with the principal is not something I wanna do right now. "No, sir..."

  I hear principal Garnier readjusting himself on his seat. "Stop looking down, boy. You might hurt your neck. We don't want someone else to hurt themselves today, do we now?" he says laughingly. I move my head up, and see the principal's smile. It's pretty contagious, as I feel a little smile forming on my face. Iván starts smiling as well. "Listen here now, boys. I don't really believe in punishing students, it doesn't fix anything other than making the students hating the school even more." principal Garnier says while looking at some papers on his desk, "That's why all I want you two to do, is to formally apologize to Mister Peterson and show true remorse. Is that understood, boys?" I see Iván's usual bright facial expression returning. "Yes sir, thank you." Principal Garnier sticks out his hand. Is he trying to shake our hand? I've never done that before, is there some kind of technique? Iván shakes the principal's hand one time, then the principal moves his hand my way. Even though I don't want to, I copy what Iván did and shake his hand. He didn't give us a punishment after all, so I guess I owe it to him.

  We leave the principal's office, and I'm about to walk away, but I feel a quick tap on my shoulder. "Hey, I'm not like... trying to be annoying or petty or something but... ehm..." Iván looks down while playing with his fingers. I've already stayed in this God awful building long enough, so he better tell me quick whatever he wants to say. "I just, you know, thought that like... yeah..." Everything okay, Iván? If you're having a stroke, leave it for another day. Right now I really want to go home. "It's just that, I've already saved you a few times you know... Like back when you had to say your name or eh... right now, I said that eh... I was the one who like... bumped into mister Peterson and that we were playing tag. I also did all the talking even though..." 'Even though' what? This guy's just giving me a recap at this point. Don't worry dude, I remember it all no need to remind me. "...even though you were the one who started running out of nowhere. I didn't really do anything wrong, you know? So... I just wanna hear a 'thank you'... That's all." He looks at me with a nervous smile. Why is he blaming me for this? Wasn't it his decision to help me out with all of this? I didn't ask him to. Did he just do all of that, for a simple 'thank you'? He's still smiling at me, but I see his leg shaking a bit. I hate to admit it, but I do feel a little bad for him. In my eyes I was already showing that I was thankful by letting him walk and sit with me, but I guess he needs words instead. Ughh... Fine. If that will FINALLY let me leave school today, then there's no other way. I slowly adjust my glasses...

  "Thanks." I say to him, then immediately walk away. I don't even care about how he reacts, I'm just happy I can leave now.