Under the tree

I was just sitting under the big tree behind our classroom. I often hang out here because I don't have anyone to talk to inside the classroom; I don't have any friends in my room. I was eating my lunch when a girl approached me. "Can I hang out here?" she asked. I just nodded and didn't speak. She's my classmate, and she's popular in our room because she's pretty and smart, but this is the first time I've seen her come here. "Do you come here often?" she suddenly asked. I just nodded because I didn't know what to say to her.

"You're so quiet, Ken," she remarked.

"My name's not Ken," I said, because it's really not Ken.

"Sorry, Nick, I was just teasing you," she said.

"It's even less Nick," I replied, thinking if she really doesn't know my name, we're classmates after all.

"Don't you know my name?" I asked, as it was obvious.

"Of course I do, Ethan," she said.

"No." I sighed at what she was saying, probably planning to mention all the names she knew.

"Timotheo," I said.

"Oh, so we're classmates," she replied.

Only now did she notice?? What kind of brain does she have?

"Wait, do you know my name?" she asked with a grin.

"Kiana Mae Olesco Gomez," I said to her, which she obviously didn't like.

"Wow, you even mentioned my full name," she said, seemingly annoyed. I just ignored her and continued eating. "Why are you here?" she asked while looking up at the tree. "I just want to," I replied. The whole place went silent, and it was only broken when one of our classmates called her. She said goodbye and left. After a while, I followed because it was almost time. I just listened to what our teacher was saying and prepared to go home since it was our last period. I had no one to go home with since I wasn't close to anyone at school. "Tim," I heard someone shout. I didn't turn around because it might be someone else. "Hey, why won't you look?" Kiana said, annoyed. "Tim?" I asked, puzzled, because no one calls me that. "Isn't your name Timotheo, so Tim?" she said. The name Timotheo is already short, and she can't even say it fully. "Timotheo is too long; it's tiring to say," she complained. "That's not my fault," I replied. "I'm not blaming you; you're so defensive, perds," she said, laughing. I didn't speak again to avoid saying anything more. "So, are you going home?" she asked again while walking. I walk fast, so she was almost running. "Yes," I answered shortly. "Let's go together; we live on the same street," she said. The same? But I never see her on our street. "I don't see you," I said quietly, but enough for her to hear. "How can you see me when you're always inside your house? I was surprised when you came out of your house," she replied. Oh, that makes sense. "I saw you yesterday; you came out of your house annoyed, carrying a racket on your back," she added. "Gossip girl," I said softly. "Sorry, just doing my job, perds," she said, laughing. It's only now that I learned we live close to each other, but since I rarely go out, I don't know much about our neighbors.

Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Timotheo Lorenzo De Vera. I am 16 years old and currently in grade 10. I repeated it for a year just because I wanted to. I used to get bullied when I was in elementary school. I was so scared then that I chose to stop when I was in sixth grade. I was too immature at that time, but it already happened, so there's nothing I can do about it now. Up to now, I still don't have friends at school. I don't know how to make friends or even talk to other people. I was really surprised when Kiana talked to me because she's well-known in our school. Kiana is the SSG president and also a great volleyball player. She's also at the at the top of our room rankings. I'm smart too; I always get awards, but she's just really smarter.

I was under the big tree again, just eating while watching the birds, when I saw Kiana approaching again. "You're here again," she said. I just ignored her and continued eating. "You seem to like birds," she said. I shook my head and looked at her. "Why do you say that?" I asked, then looked back at the birds playing on the tree branches. "You seem happy when you're watching them," she explained, looking at me. I looked at her and shook my head. "I don't really like birds; they just look happy playing freely," I replied. I finished my food to go back to the room, as it was almost time. When I entered the room, I still saw Kiana looking at the birds. I just ignored her because I needed to review for our quiz in Filipino.

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