Clarity looked at the boy with pure confusion. She blinked a few times, trying to comprehend the sentence said aloud from his mouth.

"Who are They," she asked, bewildered. The boy looked down.

"The comments. The bullies. Every little detail about you that could be hold against you, will! So I suggest you stay away from me," he said a little too loudly. His eyes were darting every which way, as if he was angry at the air around him.

"I don't care about that," Clarity said softly. He looked up confused. Everyone seemed to have gone back to their own conversations, not caring about the boy.

"You don't?"

Clarity shook her head. She saw the boy's eyes soften, but his shoulders were still tense. She knew she would have to earn his respect and trust.

"I'm Niall."

AH HAH! His name at last!

"I'm Clarity," Clarity said and smiled. She looked down at Niall's tray of food, seeing it stuffed, almost tumbling over its own weight. She frowned, then looked at her apple and water bottle, her frown becoming deeper.

Niall saw her frown, and wondered why she didn't have any food. Well, practically any food.

"Do you need some more foo-"

"No," she said, cutting him off. She opened the water bottle, taking a small gulp of it. Niall yes her stomach area. This girl was skinny. Like, rib-showing skinny.

When Clarity had failed to even touch her apple, Niall hover it towards her.

"Eat," he instructed, demandingly. Clarity tried to protest.

"Eat," he repeated. Her shoulders sagged as she ate her apple, as if embarrassed she as eating it. Did this girl not eat? Who didn't like eating? Why was she so insecure?

---

Lunch was over, and it waslast period. Clarity and Niall had Home Ec together. That was the last and only period, or 'bloke', they had together.

Niall and Clarity had been paired up together, no one wanting the new girl or the weirdo. But that was okay, they could be weirdos together.

"Class, today we are going to make chocolate chip pancakes with eggs and bacon," Mrs.Bern said.

"My kind of teacher," someone said and the whole class laughed.

Niall and Clarity had set to work, Niall frying the eggs and bacon and Clarity working on mixing and shaping the pancakes.

When the first two pancakes had been placed on the pan and was cooking, Clarity sprinkled semi-sweet chocolate chips on the side that was still batter.

They repeated this until all the mixture was gone, and they had six beautiful pancakes, three eggs, and five pieces of bacon on a huge plate.

Mrs.Bern went around tasting one bite of each food, 1 pancake bite, 1 bacon, and 1 egg.

"Yummy," she exclaimed when she went over to Clarity's dish. "You have a gift!"

A gift that she never uses, Niall thought.

Clarity thanked the teacher. Then, the bell rung and all the students filed out.

Notes