An Actual Highschool Drama

You Can't Buy Happiness, But Gifts Do Make People Happy

The weekend, as usual, did go by too fast

But oddly enough... it wasn't just because of the stress of the upcoming week.

Rather... Maria had realized that, as short as the time spent with Timothy was, it was... rather fulfilling. More so than just the fact they were able to finish the project in two days.

Timothy was very kind and understanding, not ever belittling or insulting her for any mistake or weird thing she did. He actually admitted to have looked at her online portfolio, but after her initial panic he told her that he found her nature photos very beautiful, and, as he said "pretty damn professional!". That alone surprised her, and made her feel pride, something she thought she'd almost lost completely during the last five years.

Maria tried her best to ignore the feelings of attachment she was starting to feel towards him, because, as much as the small linger of hope in her heart would tell her Timothy was a friend, a large part of herself was still very very skeptical about his true intentions. Just because he was new didn't necessarily mean he didn't know anything about her. He might've very well just approached her because he wanted more info, to later on relay to his friends about it.

But... maybe not...

That was bothering her a bit. She wasn't sure if the feelings of distrust were warranted. She didn't want to lose a potential friend by being too cold and distant, but if he ever turned out to really just be manipulating her, she didn't want to be too surprised.

Maria didn't tell her parents about Timothy. She didn't want to give them any false hope, at least, not until she was sure it was okay to talk about it

As she went up to the bus, she realized that he was sitting there already. As he noticed her, he stood up and let her take her place near the window.

That's probably when she remembered just how tall he was compared to her. As many times had Maria been called a beanpole, she wasn't actually that tall, only 5'6", but this guy... he was maybe over 6 feet. Standing up, his head touched the ceiling of the bus, forcing him to bend over a bit awkwardly. That height, along the muscular build and football jersey, definitely felt very jock-like. If he weren't so nice, she'd definitely be a bit scared of him.

As they both sat down, he looked at her and smiled softly. "So, uh, I was wondering earlier... why don't you want anyone to see your pictures?" He asked. Maria frowned, clutching her camera bag in her hand. "They're not that good, p-plus, I don't want to give them another reason to make fun of me..."

Timothy's smile faded, and concern shielded his gaze. "Is... is it that bad?"

"You heard those girls yesterday, during swimming class... what they said about me..." Maria said softly.

Timothy sighed softly, and pat her shoulder. "S'alright. I get it."

Then, his smile came back, accompanied this time by a glimmer in his eyes. "Y'know, how about we eat together at lunchtime. Those girls asked me to eat with them but..." he scoffed "I'll go ahead and assume it'd be way more fun with you than them." He grinned happily, and Maria chuckled. "Thanks... I'm not much of a talker during lunchtime, thought."

Timothy chuckled. "Well I don't mind, don't worry."

The bus stopped, and they had to go their separate ways, but before Maria lost him in the crowd, she noticed him waving at her. Timidly, she waved back, and walked off, her heart a bit less heavy than what it was before.

Not sure if by chance or not, but thankfully, nothing happened in between that and the end of second period. She hoped it wasn't just a coincidence.