By the campfire sat Dan, Rash, three of my other friends, and me. We were on a hike, and today was the last day. It was late at night, and everyone was sharing their stories. After everyone had finished, it was my turn. Dan, a close friend of mine, said, "Why don't you share some of your story?" I thought for a moment about what to say.

"Okay then," I started. "Until grade 5, I studied at a school called Ridgewood High. Then, in grade 6, I transferred to another school called Greenfield High. It didn't feel very welcoming at first, or so I thought until I reached grade 8. That year, I met my two most loving friends who are still by my side—Dan and Rash—and a girl I fell in love with. It was the second time I had a crush on someone; the first was back in kindergarten. I was mesmerized by her. She looked different from any other girl I had seen. It might have been due to her outfit that didn't match our school's dress code: a grey skirt, white shirt, red tie, and socks."

I paused to drink some water and continued, "She had big, lovely eyes and a beautiful smile. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, or so I thought. Though I loved her, I knew she would never be mine because I wasn't good-looking and was shorter than her. But she wasn't the only one I got; I also made two new friends who are with me now. The first few months were normal. We were in the same class, yet I never had the courage to interact with her. I had this fear of talking to girls. Then, one day, our science teacher rearranged the seats. There were two columns, one for boys and one for girls, and he mixed us up to keep boys and girls seated together to prevent noise and disturbances."

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"So, were you two seated together?" Chris asked.

"No, we weren't," I said, taking another sip of water. "An old friend of mine from Ridgewood, who had transferred schools three years before me, was seated with the best friend of the girl I liked. I won't be using their real names; I'll go with Tulp for the girl I liked and her best friend will be Rose."

I clarified, then went on, "He was shy and didn't really like talking with girls at that time. The teacher asked him to choose who he wanted to exchange his seat with, and he chose me. I was with Dan and Rash, so he was with them, and I had to be with Rose. As I said earlier, I feared talking to girls, so it was hard for me to adjust, but to my surprise, she was quite charming and friendly. I never really thought that girls could be so friendly. She was nice and friendly, so it was not that hard to adjust. But that's not the main thing. The main part was that the girl I liked was seated in front of me on the first bench."