Another regular day where the sun shone. The sound of the alarm clock resounded through the room. A split second later, a large crashing sound cut through the room. “Such a noisy alarm clock,” a boy in his mid-teen, possessing long straight silver locks, exclaimed as he made his way off his bed. Going by the regular routine of dressing up into what he deemed as the pathetic school's uniform, he would always remember to make at least some minor adjustment to it. For today, he decorated his blue shirt with some pins.

            “So today its pins,” one of his classmate pondered out loud as he examined his friend's clothing decoration. “Will there ever be a day where you would dress up normally like everyone else in school? Yesterday you folded your sleeves gangster's style. The day before that you mixed up the cloths for physical education and regular school uniform on purpose. Not to mention how-”

            “At least I didn't cut up the school uniform, yet,” although the sentence sounded so much like a joke, his friend knew he was serious.

            “Hey, Kai you didn't have to be so harsh there.”

            “You know better than anyone else how I hated this place, X,” Kai said as he walked past his friend and make his way to his homeroom. “All I wanted is to be myself and do what I want to...” he whispered quietly while thinking back to all those people he knew who would do anything in order to fit in, even if they had to act fake to everything and not be themselves. Pathetic people.

            Walking alone through the corridors, Kai looked around trying to find someone. Getting used to the looks some students in the school were giving him, as well as their attitudes, he ignored them.  Once in a while, some people would try to drag him into their group. When it happened, he would shoved them off in the same way he does to others. “People who can't do anything for themselves are pathetic. But those who take advantage of that are even more pathetic. I hate these kinds of people,” he said it so often that everyone now thought it was his catch-phase. However, whenever X heard that, he would tell Kai that there were many people out there who were not like how he thought they were. Somewhere out there, are those who really want to become friends with Kai.

            Reaching the cafeteria, Kai saw X talking to a group of other people. X and those people talked and laughed together, but Kai was not amused. Everywhere he looked, people separated into small groups and talked to each other, like a clique. Nowadays, even the library had become too loud for him. Walking back the way he came, Kai was stopped in his track. A girl he does not quite recognize was waving to his direction. Doubting that it was him she was waving at, he looked around only to find no one else other than him. Looking back, Kai saw the girl approaching him.

            “Hey! Kai, is it?” That girl does not seem sure at all, but it was not like Kai cared anyway. “I'm Gloria! Nice to meet you!” Nodding briefly, Kai continued onward to wherever he was trying to go to earlier on. Although he ignored the girl, Gloria had been following him all the time. Kai already made it to the fourth floor, standing in front of his locker, not sure of where he should go. He thought maybe he should go to the guy's restroom just to have Gloria stop following him. Reaching the peak of his temper, he slammed his locker door.

            “What do you want from me?! Stop following me already! Who are you anyway?! Why don't you go stay with your friend or something?!”

            “I'm Gloria! I'm new here! Nice to meet you!”

            Kai's eye twitched. He absolutely did not expect the girl to be this naïve. For her to be replying as if nothing had happened was beyond him. “You still haven't answer my question.”

            “I like your hair so much! Shiny silver, long and straight. Is it natural?”

            “No... But the length and straightness is.” This girl, she won't stop changing the topic.

            “I thought the school don't allow student to dye their hair to an unnatural color?”

            “I did not dye my hair. I just happened to bleached it so much it turned silver from black. Why do you care anyway?” turning around, Kai prepared to leave as soon as he could.

            “I want to be your friend.”

            Kai stopped in his track. “Friend?” The memories from the past came back to haunt him. “How can I know you're not just using that word as an excuse?! Like everyone else...” lowering his voice, he turned around and walked away. Leaving Gloria alone as if she was not there to begin with, Kai made his way to his next class.

            Halfway through the class, all Kai did was staring out the window. “I want to be your friend,” Gloria's voice would not leave his mind. Not even for a brief moment.

            “Kai. Kai!”

            Being pulled out of his thought, Kai saw his teacher looking at him worried.

            “Are you alright? You seem distracted... is something bothering you?” tilting her head, the teacher took a closer look at Kai. “You are the class's star student! It's unusual seeing you like this.”

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            “I'm fine really.”

            “If you say so... but feel free to go see the nurse if you want to.”

            “Thank you, I will if I need to,” realizing how he had been making his teacher worried, he put his thoughts aside for the time being. This isn't time to be thinking about that.

            The bell that indicates the end of school rang. As always, Kai would be the first one to leave class, unlike others who would stayed and hung around with their friends. Rushing downstairs, he prepared to leave the school and go back home as soon as possible. Everything would have gone well if it was not for someone to come in his way. Why now of all time?

            “Aren't you going to clubs?”

            He did not even have to look to know who it was. Gloria, no doubt.

            “I don't care about such thing. I'm going home.”

            “Can I walk with you then?”

            He was not ready for this, not yet. “I'm sorry, I have to go now. Maybe later then.”

            “Promise?”

            Promise? Once shouldn't hurt. “Promise,” Kai only said it loud enough for Gloria to barely hear him.

            As Kai left, X walked up to Gloria. “Is that gangster-like guy pushing his friend aside again?” he murmured softly as he looked at his friend's figure disappeared into the distance. “No, I said it wrong. Does he even consider anyone as his friend?”

            Every morning seems the same to Kai, he did not expect much to happen until later through the day when he had time for his own. However, that day was different.

            “How cute!!!”

            “Can I take a photo with you please?”

            What happened all of a sudden? A group of girls suddenly approached Kai the minute he stepped foot into school's ground.

            X came and embraced Kai from behind. “You have to expect these sort of things if you're going to wear that to school.”

            “What are you-” Kai stopped mid-sentence when he heard a girl comment something.

            “Those cat ears and tail really fit you Kai! It's even the same color as your hair!!”

            Turning toward the girl, Kai stuttered out his reply. “Th-thank you,” blushing a bit, Kai tried to ignore all the commotion he had caused as casually as he could, leaving X to deal with the ruckus instead.

            “Don't worry ladies, I'm sure Kai would take photos with you all before he leaves school today, trust me,” X winked at all the girls before following Kai to class.

            The day went by as regular as usual. Except for the fact that Kai did not seem sure with what he was doing. Compared to other days, today Kai talked to pretty much anyone who walked by him. It would have been normal if Kai gave them a quick short reply and left. However, that day he kept the conversation going.

            “Hey Gloria, don't you think Kai is starting to open up?”

            “I can't say for sure,” Gloria look at Kai from a distance before giving X her actual answer. “Maybe we should test it out. Don't you think?”

            “I'm listening,” With X's reply, the two friend discusses together a strategy to get Kai to open up more.

            The school day went by as fast as usual. Everyone spent their time as regularly except for Kai who did not seem like his usual self. Not even Kai himself was sure. He was not acting like everyone else to get along with others, but how come everybody were coming to talk to him today, as if they would always do it even if they actually did not Kai thought. He was just being his usual self. It did not seem like other people were trying to use him neither.

            “Kai~ what are you doing~?” Shaking Kai's shoulder, Gloria forcefully turns Kai around to face her.

            “What are you doing?”

            “Talking with this lovely friend of mine~” Gloria answers as she jump around.

            Kai sweat-dropped at Gloria's action. “Did you have too much sugar?”

            “I just want to ask you if you think I'm your friend or not,” she smiled gently at him. “Sorry for the sudden question though, I just want to let you know that no matter what you answer or what you think, you are my friend and will always be.”

            “I... I want some time to think about it first, if you don't mind.”

            “Sure! Take as much time as you need,” Gloria turned around and walked away.

            Knowing that X would be hanging around the soccer field, Kai decided to go sit around there and wait for his friend. He stared into the distance as lunch time passed by slowly. Kai always thought that the soccer field would be noisy since the middle schoolers would come to play soccer every so often, but it seemed that even the soccer field had its peaceful moments as well. Turning toward the cafeteria, Kai wait for X to walk out through the door. However, the cool breeze of the wind and the quietness of the area had made Kai dozed off to sleep.

            Being shook quite harshly, Kai got no choice but to wake up. He was going to scold whoever did so if it was not for his realization of what time it was.

            “What are you thinking? Sleeping around here at a time like this? Seriously?”

            “I'm just curious...” Kai trailed off, unsure of whether or not he should be asking his friend about his problem.

            “About?”

            “Why is everyone being so kind to me? I'm not trying to be like them and they know it so why?”

            “I told you once, didn't I? There are many people who want to be friend with you. Not because they want to use you, but because they like you for who you are,” X patted his friend's back and stood up. “It's not like you to doubt your own thoughts.”

            As X walked away, Kai realized how in order to be someone friend, one do not need to do whatever they can to fit in, but rather just be themselves like he himself.