He was the only one that raised his hand in class, even thought no one did anymore. Teenagers, they mostly stuck to their stereotypes, trailing around in herds like lost sheep following the virtual shepherd that was society. He was the only one that stood watching... Watching those fools as they barked and gossiped and chattered by the lockers, moving in groups, afraid of being alone. He was alone, and he was never afraid.

I first noticed him on his first day here - just like everyone else. He was like what you would call a fresh splash of water to the face, as he entered with his timid, shuffling feet and bowed, blonde head. His big eyes looked only at who he was speaking to, or at no one at all when he was silent, and he never seemed to stare or worry about others. Others, however, were far less humble.

"Sorry, madam," he spoke loud and clear, so polite it seemed as if he was addressing a queen. His dimpled smile filled his round face, his freckles like chocolate sprinkles on a shortcake, and his big blue eyes seemed to so purely meet his words.

The class giggled, one following another to guide every other student. The teacher gave a nervous smile, even she was embarrassed. "Address me with 'miss', dear. We don't address teachers with 'madam' here," she told him, and asked for his name.

"Tom Chester. I'm from three countries, madam-- I mean, miss." He did not need to say that, but it was a sweet comment nonetheless. Everything about him was sweet. Yet, the class laughed again, mocking his innocence.

"That's nice. Sit down, Tom, over there." He followed the teacher's gesture towards the seat beside me, his blue bag swung over both shoulders, barely hanging for how evidently heavy it was. He sat with a sigh, and still the other students had not released him of their scrutinizing attention.

He seemed to not realise their stares at all. I watched as he unzipped his bulging bag and pulled out a thick, yellow-paged book. It made a loud thud as it sat on the desk.

"Tom?"

Tom looked up at the teacher, who gave him a questioning look, switching her eyes between her paper and him. "It says here Temolinter Chester, is that your name? Or do we have another Chester?"

The boys at the back erupted into laughter, exchanging expressions of shared mockery at the unusual name.

"No, no, my name's Temolinter. Just call me Tom."

"Watch that tone then, Tom," the teacher said, suddenly using a warning tone, then returned to marking the register.

Tom paused and raised an eyebrow, then looked at me. He whispered, "What did I say wrong?"

I smiled at him, ignoring for once the intense shyness I felt inside, and replied, "You must always address the teacher by miss. In every line. You shouldn't say anything casually or they take it the wrong way."

Tom seemed taken aback by this. "My deepest apologies, miss. I ought to speak more politely," he announced into the silence, an unexpected continuation to a finished conversation. The teacher simply looked at him judgementally before ignoring his announcement in order to return to her work.

He seemed unfazed by the rejection, his smile back on like a light bulb. He had to have some sort of happy-switch in there - his smile was one of the first things I found that was so unbreakable about him. He flipped open his fat book, and went through the pages like a professor through his files, with squinted eyes and careful flicks.

The class had returned to their previous gossips, and there was the usual buzz of pointless conversation back in the air. Tom reached a page, and I noticed it was a drawing of a tiger, perfectly penned like it didn't even have a beginning.

It must have been a book of his sketches. The cover was a light blue, carpet-soft hardcover with Tom printed in gold, shiny letters across the centre.

"You like drawing?" he asked me. I didn't think I had any other choice but to reply with a nod as he pushed the book my way until it sat between us."See, this one is of a tiger I saw at the zoo yesterday."

He was flipping through the pages and showing me each of his drawings, explaining each one to me, for almost ten minutes, when suddenly, he asked, "We're friends now, right?"

I felt myself turn red in that moment. "Yeah, I guess."

And he smiled again; that wonderful, beautiful smile.

*to be continued*

--(updating in the future some time)--