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Maddie clicked her pen during her Math class, trying to stay awake and failing pretty miserably. It wasn't her fault that the universe hated her enough to give her algebra at 8 in the morning. It was unnatural, really. Her mind hadn't been awake long enough to try and solve equations.
She'd much rather be in the library, reading and daydreaming -- or back home, sleeping.
(That second option sounded better and better the more she thought about it; this whole education thing was really interfering with her sleep cycle).
As her teacher droned on and on, she thought she could close her eyes for a split second and have nothing bad happen.
Clearly that wasn't the case, because the moment her eyes closed, she felt them roll in the back of her head and she almost fell forward. Was she that tired? Maddie tried her best to stay alert, trying to focus on what Mr. Anderson was saying, but, well, that didn't work.
Actually, it was putting her even more to sleep.
All at once, she felt a hand tapping her shoulder.
"Hey, you alright?"
It was the boy who sat behind her, named Aaron. He had a sweet smile and kind eyes. She had a somewhat colossal crush on him.
How couldn't she? He always partnered up with her during class work and knew a million ways to make her laugh. Other people she knew, including her friends, didn't take the time to make her laugh. She always felt left out whenever she was eating lunch with them or even walking down the hallway. They were all a few steps ahead, while Maddie was left racing after them.
Not with Aaron. He took his time and, even though he was considerably better at math than she was, he cared enough to not only help her get the answer, but understand how she got there.
It might not have seemed like much to anyone else, but to Maddie, it really meant a lot.
She shrugged, whispering back. "Just tired."
Aaron laughed despite himself. "Doesn't help that Anderson's especially boring today."
Maddie chuckled along, trying to stay quiet but failing in doing so.
Unfortunately for the two of them, their sudden outburst coincided with a pause in Mr. Anderson's lecture. He looked down at them, through his round eyeglasses.
