XI: Settle

Matthew met a petite guy at the bus stop on his officially first day of school. He let out a long sigh and inhaled the fresh morning breeze. It was not particularly chilly. It just felt serene enough to make it feel a little colder.

He noticed that the young lad across him had pretty fingers. 'I wish I had fingers like that.' Matthew envied a lot of people who had beautiful fingers. Not the psycho kind by the way – he was just the type of guy who likes to have pretty slender fingers.

In a way it looked clean to him. Neat. Flawless.

He noticed that he took out his earphones and hummed cutely to the music. Matthew did not know what song he was listening to but hearing him with all the adorable sounds he made also took an effect on him. He smiled a little with his eyes closed.

After a while, they both prepared as the bus is heading their way. They went inside but sat on different seats. The distance between them looked like they were in a movie. Matthew sat on the middle part of bus, near the aisle. Meanwhile, the boy with the pretty fingers sat beside the window two rows at the back of the driver.

He was at the left and Matthew was on the right.

As they reached their destination, they went on their separate ways. Matthew received an email from the school that transferees' schedules will be posted on the bulletin board near the secretary's office. He flipped through the pages and saw his name.

Matthew Harris – CLASS A. It was written in bold red underlined. Below his name were his subjects per day and the teachers that will be teaching the class subsequently. "Alright, I'm all set." He took a photo of it and neatly folded the paper to be tucked inside one of his binders.

To his pleasant surprise, the very same guy is in his class holding a novel.

"I hope someone would take me away from here." Matthew knew that feeling all too well. To find peace and just escape, the two things not anyone can have. "Yeah, don't we all?" He replied. His comment made him look up to him.

Matthew sat at the back as per usual. His height implies that he should be seated there. He sat beside the window. The classes started to get filled in with students and he heard them talking about him.

'Only 15 minutes until classes start.' He looked at his watch. 'The teacher will be here any minute now.' He just wanted to get his introduction done. Live quietly and peacefully. Nothing more, nothing less.

A teacher came in and looked at his clipboard. "Is Matthew Harris already here?" He stood up and raised his hand slightly. "I'm here sir."

"Alright, alright, class settle down. Let's hear from Matthew here. He is our new transferee for this year." He felt the stare of his classmates as he walked across the room. Before he faced them, he exhaled. He must admit, he felt a little nervous.

"My name is Matthew Harris. I am from Carolina. I live with my grandma as of now. I hope we can all be friends." He bowed a little and looked at the teacher. "So Matthew, tell us why you transferred."

"My parents got divorced and I don't want to live with either of them." The class fell silent. The teacher did not expect that type of straightforwardness from the transferee nor the reason as to why he transferred in.

"O-Oh, I-I see…" The old man cleared his throat. "Well, not all things work out with parents. This is why think carefully before kneeling down on one knee boys. Marriage is terrible but it is as blissful."

He put his hand on Matthew's shoulder and spoke to him softly. "Don't take it to heart son. If you want someone to talk to, feel free to see me. I've been in your situation too, so I know how you feel."

Matthew smiled and excused himself. The class continued. His situation is nothing out of the ordinary. Divorce is not something rare. In fact, it is common these days. Some marriages just don't work out and life is not a series of rainbows and butterflies.

His classmates were fazed like the teacher but judging by how fast they shrugged it off, they must have heard something similar in the past.