My entry for WriterAwards contest. Hope you like it! The idea originated from this prompt: "The most beautiful smile I ever saw...". Make sure to vote and comment with your thoughts!

Update: This short story tied for third in the contest. 

The most beautiful smile I ever saw was on the face of Clover Renae Dayton. It didn't simply glow, it lit up the whole room like the sun itself. It  radiated warmth and happiness and hope. When Clover Renae Dayton smiled, it made it seem like the world was wonderful. Hope. Clover had so much hope it poured out of soul and into the world through her smile.  And boy,  the world sure needed that hope.

There she was, standing in the hallway chattering away with her friends. Her smile. Her laugh. Clover Renae Dayton.  I felt a tap on my shoulder, knocking me back into reality. 

"Hey Garret, you busy?" Alec asked as we walked out the doors of Margaret J. Kellings High School and into the courtyard decorated with  cherry trees. 

 Margaret J. Kellings High School was located in the town of Shadow Glen, across the street from rows of homes with neatly manicured lawns and next to the Shadow Glen Mini Mart, a regular after school hangout spot for high school students. The high school was the only one in Shadow Glen. Our town was that small- four schools total. Five if you counted the junior high as a separate school, which I didn't because it was in the same building and was named after the same person as the high school. Margaret J. Kellings was  the first mayor of Shadow Glen. From what I've heard about her, it doesn't seem like she actually deserved to have the town's high school and junior high named after her. I think it had something to do with the fact that she was head of the school-building committee, and also the one giving paychecks to the everyone else on the committee. Which explains why the three elementary schools we have are named after her sons, who were 6, 4, and 2 years old at the time.

"Yeah, I got homework to do," I said. 

"Can't you do that later?" 

"Nah, my parents wouldn't let me. Not until I get my grades up. I gotta study."

"Don't tell me your studying at your place," Alec scoffed. 

"I'm not," I replied. Studying or doing homework at my house was impossible, not with my five younger siblings, each of whom seemed to exist for the purpose of driving me insane.

"So come to the Mini with us," he urged. "Just 'till five, you got plenty of time after that."

"No can do," I insisted. "I gotta date with my textbooks and it's at the library."

"Library?" Alec asked, puzzled. "You ever been in a library before?"

"Yes, Alec, I have," I said, annoyed. 

"Alright man, alright. Go on ahead to your library date."

I grinned. "Cool. No hard feelings?"

"Nah, it's chill. We don't want to fail, we gotta keep you on the team bro." Alec grinned. 

 " 'Kay, see you." 

We headed our separate directions, Alec down the street to the Mini Mart, and me the opposite towards the library.  Shadow Glen's size was good in the sense that you could walk everywhere. In fact, that was one of our conditioning workouts for basketball, running around town. 

I walked into the library, headed straight to the study tables in the back, sat down, and pulled out my math homework. Then I sort of sat and stared at it for about five minutes. What was I thinking? There was no way I could figure this out. 

I groaned and threw my pencil on the table in frustration. I tried, I really did. But I just didn't get it. It had no purpose to me, anyways. When in life will I need to know this? My parents have tried to help, only to realize that they don't remember any of their high school math. If they never used it, why do I need to learn it? Why don't they teach something I'll actually need in life, like how to file taxes. 

"Want help?" There she is, with her angel-worthy smile. Clover Renae Dayton. Her face, with a splash of freckles across her nose, framed by her wavy brown hair, slightly frizzy, but that was okay.  

"Uh, yeah," I mumbled. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'm sure you'll get it," Clover said, pulling out the other chair at the table and sitting down.  "Now, let's see... Pythagorean theorem! This'll be fun!"  She pushed her glasses up her nose and grinned. Adorable. Yes, she was beautiful, but there were some things I just didn't understand."

"Fun?" I asked. "How could you possibly call this fun?"

"Oh, you'll see," she assured me. "Now, the Pythagorean theorem is simple, once you know it. In every right triangle, a squared plus b squared equals c squared. Lets try this one to start..."

Twenty minutes later, I had the whole worksheet completed. Feeling proud of myself, I handed it to Clover to check my answers. 

"Awesome," she said. "One hundred percent." Then she smiled, and hope and happiness poured into me. Not only hope for my math grade, but hope that maybe I would go somewhere, do something, be someone. It may seem dramatic, I know, but Clover Renae Dayton just had that effect on people. 

So I smiled back. 

Hey guys! Thank you, to all who read through this all the way down to here. Please remember to: Vote! Comment! Share!  It means so much to me. :) 

I was wondering- what do you think of Garret, Clover, Alec, and the whole town of Shadow Glen? Maybe they should have their own story? Tell me if you want to see them again!

Again, this is my contest entry for WriterAwards short story contest. Make sure to check them out if your interested in entering your work to any of their contests. 

Thanks again for reading and have a fabulous day!