I breathed in the fresh autumn air. The one thing I loved about school was the walk home. I loved feeling connected to nature and the feeling of not being pressured to “be normal”.

I had just closed my eyes to enjoy the fresh breeze when I tripped, scattering my books and scraping my knee. I grimaced and looked up for a moment, shutting my eyes and hoping my leg wasn’t bleeding. I went to check when I jumped, startled by a voice.

“It’s fine! It’s just me!” Chase exclaimed. “Are you okay?”

I nodded my head and quickly jumped up, not bothering to check my knee. Chase was bending over to pick up my books. I silently wished that I could ask him if he was following me. Instead, I began to help him clean up my stuff.

“I know you’re thinking, and, no, I wasn’t following you.” Chase smiled, and I giggled. “I wasn’t! I was about to turn. I swear. I just moved here and, well, I got lost.”

He lowered his voice on the last few words, which only made me laugh harder. We finished picking up my books and I shoved them into my bag, not really caring if any of the pages tore. When I stood up, I felt the full blow of my injured knee.

Chase noticed my struggle to stand up right. “You’re bleeding! Are you sure you’re okay? My house is just a street away; I could get you a Band-Aid!”

I shook my head, trying not to show my surprise. This boy hardly knew me, yet he was being nicer than the entire school. He didn’t seem to mind that I didn’t talk. Which wasn’t as refreshing as it was weird.

“Well, okay. But, maybe we can hang out sometime?”
After a while, I accepted, equally excited that I might have a friend, and scared that I was walking into a trap.