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Amy Rose wasn't a crybaby.
Not usually.
She could weather any storm, on any normal day. But week after week of repetitive neglect stacked up into a monstrous skyscraper, obscuring the sun that guided her.
They said you were supposed to find your lifelong friends in college, that they'd become a part of the best years of your life.
If true, where were hers?
Tearing a black hole in the fabric of her existence in their absence.
Amy had friends. She did. Or thought she did.
They used to be so close before all this, she was sure.
It used to be her, Sonic and Tails back in primary school. Best friends. Three was often considered a crowd for best friendships. Not them. Running around on the field, the playground, playing tag, infected, the likes — all of those were their favourite pastimes. Life was good. Easy.
Then they moved to college. They remained tight as ever. Then Sonic met Knuckles in P.E. and their trio became a quad.
Creeping into their senior years, time changed them. Taking on responsibility (or dropping it, in some cases). Following interests. Taking different classes, signing up for clubs, finding new circles.
Straying oh-so far away from Amy.
So far that she had no one left to hang out with at lunch.
Everyone stated their excuses during break earlier that day. Tails had stuff to do in the I.T. office, Knuckles had Kapa Haka practice, and while Sonic had invited her out to sneak off school grounds and buy lunch from the nearby supermarket, she refused out of discomfort.
It wasn't in her nature to break major school policies without cause. Not to mention, it was a long way to walk for a girl riddled with period cramps.
She'd begged one of them — any of them — not to go and leave her. They did anyway. Anything was more important than her company. She had screamed at Sonic as he began to wander off at lunch, furious at the abandonment, her anger tripling with the hormones.
She pleaded for some sympathy. He out of all their friends should understand her pain better than anyone. He suffered every month just like her.
The look he returned her with was mortifying. A voided stare scored her soul as he departed.
She knew he wasn't coming back for last period. She'd be alone in maths. Again. Sonic's habit of wagging classes he didn't like was beginning to irk her.
It wasn't just the boys Amy had hollow friendships with.
She knew some people she liked to call 'class friends'. People she hung out with during particular classes, separating at break times to be with their own cliques. Although she liked people like Blaze and her international exchange buddy, Silver, she wouldn't at all be comfortable bothering them with her woes.
Her 'friend to all' attitude, made her a friend to none.
Her one true best friend, especially as of late, had indirectly deserted her too.
Trip, bless their heart, was sick yet again with some viral infection that'd been doing the rounds. Amy had asked that morning whether she was going to turn up, but they replied with bad news. She was always sick for at least two days or more. Amy couldn't blame Trip, she couldn't. It wasn't their fault she got sick.
But without companionship, Amy was one. A solitary number. Isolated.
And what better place to be isolated than in a toilet cubicle?
It was where Amy retreated with nowhere else to go.
She had to repress her tears until she found a cubicle that didn't have soaked toilet paper clumps on the floor, or half-eaten food in the sink, or a munted soap dispenser. When she did, she shut the door, jammed her bag against it (as it turned out, the lock on the door was broken), and cried. Hard.
Amy hadn't cried this relentlessly in a while. As good as it was to finally release all that tension, the waterworks didn't turn off once on. Maybe it was the period. Maybe it was the loneliness wracking her psyche. Either way, she was producing tear tracks far quicker than she was wiping them away.
Her head hurt. Her lungs too. She was hiccupping on her own sobs. In the early stages, she'd tried to keep the noise to a minimum, but it had only made things worse. Total purgation was her sole solution.
So she did. Crying, praying she could spend her tears in private, so she could soldier on and put on a brave face for last period.
Minutes went by. The sorrow didn't pass.
Thankfully, this bathroom block was relatively barren. Seemed no one was too keen on occupying a rank cubicle today. And two of the four were. Amy’s one was okay, then there was the one neighbouring hers. It was closed.
She hadn't heard the occupant leave since she entered, and they were here long before she was. So she could surmise that they probably weren't in there to utilise the bathroom as its intended function. How annoying.
She hated those people. It was a pet peeve that made her blood boil time and time again. There was nearly never a free toilet for the person who really needed one. She'd stressed the issue at student council months ago, then again two weeks ago. Nothing changed.
Tragic that the only thing consistent in her school life was the state of the environment itself. Everything else bent to the wind.
There she was crying again. Curled up in a protective position on the lid of the toilet, so lost to it all.
A bang sounded. Amy squeaked, throwing a hand to her mouth to muffle any further noise. It wasn't at her door. She released a shaky sigh of relief, tears dripping onto her knees and soaking into her tights.
"Shadow, oi. Open up," she heard from outside. So she was right. 'Shadow', who must be in the bathroom next to her, was definitely not in there for toilet-related business. She couldn't say she was surprised.
The door clicked and creaked and the person outside shuffled in. Seriously? They had to be the ones with a working lock? Even the smallest bits of fortune was skipping Amy. How the universe must be laughing at her.
The voice pressed on in a rant. Most of the profanities in between Amy tried her best to ignore.
"Far out. I can't with this. You know Mister What's-His-Face, you know, that guy who was your English reliever that one time? Ya, so he took us for science and— he's literally insane, Shadow, I can't even. I asked him if I could go help Matua with setting up stuff in the gym for Kapa Haka and he wouldn't let me go! And I told him Miss is usually chill with it and he was like, 'Oh nah, you need a note otherwise I can't let you leave'. And I kept telling him that it was fine and to literally ask Matua about it and he didn't? So I just left when he wasn't looking because I'm not dealing with that. We weren't even doing anything anyway. And then when I was going to find Matua, I saw Knuckles and— for real, no joke, he likes me. He's been giving me eyes. You know that look where it's like— Yeah! Anyway, he said he got told that we might not have enough money to get everyone to Polyfest this year if the student council doesn't get it together and sort out a fundraiser. They do this every year, I swear. Do a non-uniform day, or a bake sale, or open our dress rehearsals up so people can watch if they pay a gold coin. It isn't hard. Bro, if this school cheats us out again, I'm gonna leave. I don't care, I'm gonna work at that jewellery place in the mall, 'cuz I can't."
Wow, that girl (?) could talk. The voice definitely had a feminine lilt. Point was, they were disturbing Amy’s safe space to cry in. That in itself marked another tally on Amy’s reasons to be upset.
"You know what you promised me, though," joined a new voice, soft and silky, which she assumed was Shadow. "You weren't gonna drop out if I'm not."
"You wanna drop out with me?"
"Rouge."
"Bruhh, you're such a—" Her name was Rouge? Amy sniffled to distract herself from the envy. What a stunning, classy name for someone so brazen.
To Amy's dismay, this 'Rouge' character had an inability to shut up. She went on and on about the most unimportant topics imaginable, making no room for dead air. Or clean air, given what they were most likely doing in there.
The crinkling of a chip packet chimed in on the symphony. The madness all layered on top of one another was overwhelming. Her head flared with pain, the clamp on her brain tightening a few notches to repeat the process. Hot tears poured, pooling uncomfortably on her kneecaps. She was going to regret resting her eyes there, she could feel it.
Inside and out, she quaked, uncontrolled. Her whines were unintelligible over Rouge's blabbering. To her.
"Rouge. Rouge. Hey. Can you shut up?"
"No? What's your problem?"
"Just shut up." There was total silence on their end. Amy blubbered still, despite trying to force herself to quiet down. "You hear that?"
"No, what the—?"
"Nah. Move. Move, Rouge."
"Fine!" Some aggressive fumbling ensued. The lock clicked, the door creaked...
Knock, knock. It was her door that was being knocked on. Oh no. Of course they had to hear her.
"Hey, um, you 'right?" Shadow spoke from behind the door. Amy lifted her head, spying the soles of Shadow's shoes under the gap between the door and the linoleum. She opened her mouth to reply something dismissive, but what came out was a wounded cry. Shadow's breath wavered on a loud exhale.
"Uh, okay. Mind opening the door, then? Just to be safe." She didn't want to open the door to some stranger! She wanted to be left alone. "Please? I just need to know you haven't hurt yourself." Persistent. Fine, whatever. Her dignity was gone anyway.
Amy dragged her bag away from the door. It cracked open a second later, a head poking through. They must've already known the lock was busted.
The head of a hedgehog, like her. Their name described them perfectly. Black silhouette, quills streaked with red, crimson eyes, brown muzzle. A pretty (vaguely familiar) face etched with worry. For her. Her eyes stung, blurring over, guilty for achieving what she set out not to do: bother someone.
Shadow pushed the door wide, standing in the frame, pity in the gaze directed at her. She coiled further into her ball.
"Hi, heard you crying." She watched Shadow scan her figure, perhaps for any visual indicator of her being hurt. There was nothing. Clean of external abrasions. Her broken heart could go ignored. "Wanted to make sure you were okay. Um, want me to grab a friend for you or something to stay with you, or—?" Amy wailed. She couldn't will it away. Friends were the whole reason she was a wreck in the first place! Crying at school was shameful enough, but crying in front of someone she didn't even know? What could be worse?
"Right." Shadow was eerily calm for someone faced with her mess of a being. "Do you want the company? Because I can stay here if you want. I know you don't know me, but... You can vent to me, if that helps." She gasped, a response impossible to wrench from her vocal chords. If she wasn't in such a shambles, she'd have taken the offer in a heartbeat. Talking out her feelings always helped her process and heal from situations. For now, she was nowhere near that stage.
Shadow shifted from foot to foot, searching for something. Amy took a minute to assess them as they did to her.
Shadow's uniform was... hardly one. The school shirt was unbuttoned, putting a tatty, non-regulation grey t-shirt on full display. Their cargo pants, although black, would also not slide, if a dean were to catch sight of them. The only thing they were wearing correctly was the sneakers. She wondered why, then, someone like Shadow was showing concern for her — someone whose uniform was impeccable down to the colour socks she wore.
It was irregular, that's all.
So was the next interaction she received from Shadow.
"Uh, what can I do to cheer you up? Uhh..." A hand fished into a pocket. "Want a hoon?" They proffered just that. Amy shook her head. It hurt like hell, but better that than look like she'd accept it. She wanted nothing to do with those things. They were foul in every flavour. She didn't need to huff one to have that knowledge. Her head and lungs were in a state as is, what was the logic in destroying them further with toxins?
Shadow shrugged. "Fair enough. Didn't think it'd be your thing. What else? Rouge, come here."
"What?"
Rouge came into view and Amy bit back a fresh bout of tears.
Personality aside, Rouge's appearance was as sophisticated as her name implied. False lashes fluttered as she blinked and vicious acrylic nails dove into a chip bag to devour the contents within her bronze, glossy lips.
Shadow and Rouge were just about the most god-like creatures she'd ever met at this forsaken school. Devastating that she had to meet them both at one of her lower points. She could have been far more charming if she wasn't so snotty and weepy.
"Give it here?" Shadow asked, their tone light and fluffy, the sentence a jumbled, singular word. Amy fought a smile. Although inarticulate sometimes, the lax speech patterns grounded her. It was home. She rarely appreciated that enough.
Shadow's hand snatched the chip bag from Rouge, outstretching it to Amy. "Want some chips?"
Before she could give a proper answer, Rouge went off.
"Nah! You're not giving some girl my chips! You didn't even ask me, I bought them. And I need them for last period. Give them back. Shadow!" Rouge fought with Shadow, trying to reclaim her stolen goods.
Shadow stood their ground, deflecting Rouge and awaiting Amy’s reply. She wiped her eyes, reading the flavour on the packaging. Barbecue chicken.
Eating chips in a manky school bathroom was less than hygienic. She hadn't the appetite regardless. Barbecue chicken or not.
Yeah, hard pass. The bat wanted them more than she did.
"I'm okay," she peeped. Shadow returned what was robbed and Rouge held her food to her chest, offended, but still had the guts to make a snarky apology.
"Sorry, girl."
Shadow's eyelids narrowed in puzzlement. "Ignore her, she's a brat. Hey, what is your name, actually?"
"Amy."
"I'm Shadow."
She and Shadow stared at one another. For a time too long to be polite. It wasn't discomforting to her. Shadow's presence was settling. Therapeutic, almost.
Rouge, ever the interrupting force, threw her head over Shadow's shoulder, exclaiming,
"You're really pretty! Aw, no wonder he can't talk to you. He gets shy around pretty girls. I don't, though. Ugh, you're so cute! Got Insta? I need your at."
"Rouge," he snapped. "Ever thought that your incessant ranting might be absolutely insufferable to someone upset?" She stared back blankly. Amy wondered what word in that sentence confused her, because if it was: 'D: pretty much all of them', Amy was right on board.
"Eh?" She was right. Amy got the gist though, he was looking out for her. This kid he barely knew.
"Never mind." He turned to Amy. "If anything, can I at least offer a hug? Can't really think of anything else I can do." Funny. Amy would have got a teacher, or took them to the counsellor's office, or...
In actuality, a hug didn't sound all bad. It might be what she needed. Sure, it was from someone she hadn't befriended, but that didn't bother her. It was better than nothing.
"Yeah... That'd be nice. Thanks." His body relaxed, opening his arms for her. He took no steps forward, waiting for her to make the first move. She scrabbled off the lid of the toilet and into his arms, squeezing him like her life depended on it.
Her face smushed into his chest and his hands held fast to her upper back and through her quills. He ran soothing tracks through them as she snivelled, crying what was left of her tears.
Therein, it dawned on Amy just how touch-starved she was. She hadn't had a decent hug in who knows how long. Those she called friends hadn't cottoned onto her love language. Physical affection was how she loved and wished to receive it. It was few and far between that she would receive. Shadow's gentle touch fulfilled all the needs of her body, mind and soul. A foreign experience, but a lovely one.
A random act of kindness made a world of difference.
He whispered something along the lines of, "I know life is tough... but so are you." It ricocheted around the space in her brain like an old screensaver. Life is tough, but so are you.
Maybe he was right. She could survive this. She'd find a way.
She was already feeling a bit better.
After a minute or two of just standing in a cubicle, hugging, the bell rang. No. No. If it had to end... Amy didn't want it to. The first time in a long time she actually felt cared for and belonged somewhere, and some bell wanted to rip that from her?
Rouge swore, got off a phone call with someone else and complained to Shadow's back about not wanting to go to her last period class, instead of sucking it up and going.
Shadow's embrace slipped, breaking from her. She looked up, silently pleading for more. His compassion was intoxicating. The deodorant he wore too, but she was willing to ignore its part to play in her headache, so long as he continued to cuddle her. He gave a sad grimace.
"You feeling better?"
"Yeah, that honestly really helped."
"Good."
Wordless, she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulders, guessing she should head off before the second bell. Shadow leaned on the doorframe, gaze flicking around as kids began to bustle through the bathroom corridor.
"I could walk you to class if you want me to."
"No, no, I'll be fine. Don't wanna keep you from..."
"It's fine, really. Wait. Aren't you in my maths class?" Oh! That's where she recognised him from. He was the kid the teacher picked on for being blatantly on his phone, with his earphones in, trying to call him out for it by asking the answer to a question he had on the board. Shadow answered, blunt and correct, brushing it off with such efficiency that Amy forgot his existence entirely until he brought it up.
"I think so, yeah!"
"Well, I guess that works out all right, eh? You okay getting yourself to class, Rouge?"
"What class do I have?" she asked, as if she hadn't the whole year to get her timetable down pat.
"Jewellery. You've had all year to memorise your timetable." Same brain! Thank goodness it was him that had the brain cell.
"Ughhh. Yeah, but I have you for that. Do I have to go? Miss always yells at me because I haven't done the paperwork. Can't I just walk with you guys?"
If it was in Amy’s power, a 'no' probably would have flown from her mouth before she'd have time to think about it. Shadow, on the other hand, went,
"Okay. But promise me you'll go to class after that. I'm not letting you get another one of those daily attendance sheets because you keep wagging."
"A'ight, Dadow."
Amy spared a second to blow her nose and dab her face and eyes clean of tears. Some of her mascara came off in clumps and the whites of her eyes were adorned with red tendrils, but otherwise she could endure another hour or so of school, no problem.
Shadow began buttoning up his shirt and Amy realised the stains she left in her wake.
"Sorry about that." She pointed to his top, speckled with tears and snot blotches.
"Nah, it's all good. No need to apologise." He rounded the corner to retrieve his backpack. "Ready to go?"
"Yip." On instinct, she grabbed his hand tight. He started, looking at her alarmed before puffing a short laugh. A terrible disguise for his discomfort.
Never mind. His grip returned hers, reinforcing it with iron. A stable reassurance for her. She hoped no one could see the excited, involuntary swishing of her tail.
For someone who appeared so broody and aloof at first blush, Shadow was unbelievably sweet. Even when he scolded Rouge, he had her best interests at heart. He was looking after her and Amy, a person he'd not met until now. Rare was it to find someone so kind-hearted in a cesspool like this. A real diamond in the rough. He found her in her darkest hour and he shined bright. A demeanour so contrary to his namesake. Curious.
She wanted to know more about him. Nobody else would have thought twice about Amy’s breakdown, let alone come to her aid. But he did. Why?
They toddled off to class.
Rouge talked non-stop the whole way, Shadow egged it on via his lack of speech, and Amy got bored, wishing Rouge would too and go to her own class.
She did. Only once they'd arrived. She shouted her goodbyes and left, not without Shadow advising her once more to go to her class.
Upon entering the class, Shadow dragged a table away from the others, then a couple of chairs, forming a table for two, rather than the regular four or six. He sat and chucked his bag on the floor, popped an earbud into one ear, then beckoned her to sit.
Amy looked around. Her regular table was over the other end of the room, where she, Sonic and two others sat as per the seating plan.
Sonic was her one joy in this class. With her joy elsewhere...
Amy didn't break mandatory rules without a reason. Today, her reason was: she needed a friend. A real one.
Classing Shadow as a friend wasn't accurate, but 'desperate times', they say.
She sat beside him. He'd taken care of her thus far. More than anyone had done for her lately. Accepting his gestures was all she could do to thank him.
She got out her books and patiently sat by for the teacher to show up.
"Hey—" they both said in unison, giggling a little at the synchronicity.
"You go first."
"No, no, you go."
"Okay." Amy stabilised herself. She had to ask. Better now than never. "I have to ask, why'd you bother checking up on me? I know nobody 'round here that does that sort of thing for anyone."
Shadow sighed, as if the question was too weighted, too personal to resolve.
"Um," he started, "yeah. A lot of messed up stuff goes on at this school. Not just the scraps, but stuff behind closed doors. Most people are too oblivious to notice people in dire need. It's tough. So if I can help someone like you and see you pay it forward, that's enough. It might make the slightest bit of difference... but I'll know I've done my bit. A little bit of kindness goes a long way sometimes. People forget that."
Amy had a light bulb moment. "Thought of joining the health and wellbeing team here?"
"No, what makes you suggest that?"
"I think you'd make a wonderful advocate for mental health." If he was on the wellbeing team, then she'd have a valid excuse to hang around him. They could organise fundraisers together, meet up after school... Was she this desperate for a friend? Yeah.
Shadow's expression darkened. "I don't. It doesn't matter what I say, my voice means nothing to those who don't want to listen and nobody wants to. I'm needed where I'm not seen. Besides, people don't exactly seem to like me." Amy's face fell. Okay, so making friends with him would be a little harder than she thought. She picked at the gross patches on her knees, damp with old tears.
"Why not?"
"Don't know. Primal nature, maybe. They cast out what's different. They condemn what they don't understand. Age-old rubbish. It's endless. They've made it clear I don't belong, so I've stopped trying to. Which is why I sit here. I don't bother anyone and no one bothers me if I keep to myself."
"That's... sad." She truly thought so. "Well, if it means anything, I think you're pretty nice. I don't think I belong either. I guess that's why my friends go and do other stuff without me." He did that face again. That sad cringe. He understood, didn't he?
"It's none of my business, but if you're looking for some advice, I'd recommend getting some better friends. You deserve people who value you." Amy's eyes began to well up. She deserved an upgrade from rock-bottom abandonment? She felt so important, so heard when Shadow spoke to her.
"Do I?"
"Yeah, you do." There wasn't a lie behind his eyes as he made his claim. He skipped a song on his phone a second later, if those three words were inconsequential. They weren't. Not to her. It was an arrow to the heart. As impactful as an 'I love you' would have been. Not that she knew.
She pushed that thought aside. "So what were you gonna say?" she asked, leaning on her knuckles to get a proper look at him.
"Yeah. My question. Ah, how long had you been in there — the bathroom — for?"
"Nearly all of lunch, why?" Yeah, it'd been about that long. Yikes.
"Damn. I was there the whole time and didn't notice until Rouge came in."
"How? What? How did you not notice?"
"I live with these things in when I'm here." He gestured to his earbuds. "See? I'm so dependent on them that I forget there's a world I need to pay attention to." He paused his music, removing the bud to chuck them and his phone into his bag. "I could have got to you sooner, I'm sorry I didn't."
"I get it. I like my music too. You came when you did and... I really appreciate what you've done for me."
"Anytime."
Did she just see him smile? Her stomach fizzed, her pulse racing to no end. Oh... She was well acquainted with this feeling. Were her cheeks burning? She surreptitiously checked. They were.
If Amy had ten cents for every time she had a crush on someone random and/or out of her league, she'd have approximately two dollars. She could probably buy something from the canteen with that kind of cash.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, apparently, and Amy saw beauty in everyone. She couldn't stop herself. Love coursed through her arteries. It was what kept her alive. Any sudden surge of it gave her something to cling to.
"All right, sorry I'm late everyone." Huh? She leaned backwards to see their teacher walk in, hands overflowing with papers. "Those who haven't finished their linear algebra assessment, I need those in by... let's say two-fifty. Everyone else, please get started on the bivariate data introduction I've added to the workspace. I know it's a Friday, so just do as much as you can."
Amy went up and grabbed her sheet off the teacher and returned to her spot with Shadow, checking anxiously to see whether anyone would spot her out of her allocated seat. No one did. Shadow started up his computer, and she watched it load, instead of revising on her work. He clicked on the work, scrolled to an example scatter graph and let it sit. Clearly, he did not plan on getting any work done today. She didn't want to either. The deadline loomed nevertheless.
Stalling, she analysed the graph. A large cluster was on the incline, while a few dots were scattered elsewhere, separated from the group. There were two outliers in the upper left hand corner, side by side.
"Hey, look," she pointed them out to Shadow. "It's us." A self-deprecating joke she thought he might appreciate. But he turned to her, dead serious, with,
"Yeah, looks like it is." He zoomed in, circling them using his touchscreen, then adding an arrow with the label 'us'. He zoomed back out, circling the largest cluster, labelling them, 'some losers' with a smiley face.
Amy made grabbing motions with her hands. "Can I add something?"
"Sure." He slid the device over to her and her mere contribution was a small, scribbled heart next to his label indicating 'us'.
"Amy, why aren't you in your normal seat? Your seat is over there." Hovering uncomfortably over their table, there was the teacher. Amy opened her mouth but fell short of a reasonable excuse.
"She hasn't been feeling too well today, Mister. I'm looking after her," Shadow clarified, his stare steely. The teacher eyed him, sceptical.
"Do you need to go to the nurse's office, then, Amy?"
"No, I'm fine," she defended. "I just need a friend right now." He scrutinised them both, coming up clueless.
"All right. Don't distract her, otherwise I'll move you," he said to Shadow. Shadow affirmed with a nod. The teacher walked off without further fuss, dealing to some other kid who arrived late. Shadow muttered an obscenity.
Amy, strangely startled by his foul mouth, reverted to her initial task of finishing her assessment.
The formulas became fuzzy as she recounted the last moment and found she'd called Shadow a friend, in front of him. If he had heard it, he said nothing of it. She wasn't sure if she found that a relief or anxiety-inducing.
When she got to the end of her page, she came to the conclusion that she remembered not a single thing of what she was meant to do. She needed help. Could she even get that mid-assessment? She didn't think so. Her head slumped.
"You all right, Amy?" Shadow whispered to her.
"Yeah... Just stuck."
"What bit are you on?"
"The second part. Why can't Ata just work out her own maths problem?"
Shadow snickered. "Because that wouldn't leave a whole lot of kids miserable," he joked. "She's got a vendetta. Don't let her win. Pretend you're enjoying it, do the excellence section, even. It's the only way to push her back."
"But I don't know how to do that. I was gonna stop at the merit stuff."
"Got a scrap piece of paper? I'll teach you. But keep it low key, don't want Mister to know I'm doing this."
Amy spent the rest of the lesson following Shadow's teachings to the letter and somehow his explanations of everything suddenly made more sense than whatever the teacher was instructing them on for weeks. In half an hour, her brain was creating countless new neural pathways. It was like magic.
She finished her assessment, excellence section and all, by quarter to three. She danced around her chair prior to sitting down. She was beaming.
"Thank you so much! That was way easier than I thought."
"No need to thank me. Your smile is payment enough." Amy's cheeks flushed again. No denying it this time. He reflected her smile, to the same intensity. "You remember to pay that forward for me, all right?"
"I promise."
"Good."
"Is it too soon to ask if I can get your number or something?"
"Why? Got English homework you want me to tutor you on?"
"No. Just to talk." He paused, his angular eyes squinting, trying to deduce whether she had ulterior motives. She just wanted a friend. A loyal one. Hard to do when she was busy keeping her composure at the same time.
"You know what? Why not? There you go." His phone appeared on their table again, his number displayed to Amy, who typed it furiously into her contacts. She sent a confirmation message and he responded with an emoticon of all things.
She giggled. She couldn't take it anymore. She was claiming him.
"You just have yourself a new friend, by the way."
His mouth went agape. "That's... probably the quickest I've made a friend in my entire life."
"You said it yourself: 'A little bit of kindness goes a long way.'"
"I... I guess it does."