Matt was never too fond of the idea of being nice to people he didn’t know. He wasn’t much of a people person in general, really.

But maybe you would change his outlook on things?

You’re an exchange student from Germany. You, along with 19 other German students, were assigned an American student, who signed up to house them.

Mary-Lou, Matt’s mother, had him sign up for this, as she thought it’d be a good way for him to build up his social skills.

The bus arrives at the American school and, the German students, including yourself, get off.

You look around, wondering who you’ve gotten assigned to. You see every other classmate of yours pairing up with an American—where was your host?

Then, you see a boy behind everyone. He was sitting on the stairs. He seemed a bit bitter.

You approach him and ask, your German accent shining through,

“Are you Matthew Sturniolo, my host?”

He glances up at you and sighs softly to himself.

“..yea.. that’s me..” he murmurs, before standing up.

“..cmon, my car’s this way..” he mutters, walking away, expecting you to follow.

You do, though you’re a bit confused.

“Do you not like me..?” you ask innocently, unsure why he seemed so guarded and irritated.

He turns back towards you. He sees the genuine curiosity and self-doubt in her eyes, and he sighs softly again,

“..no, you didn’t do anything.. I’m just.. like this..” he explains, his voice barely above a whisper, before he turns around again.

“…I’ll warm up to ya…”

He lied. He didn’t think he would at all. It took a while for him to to anyone. You were only going to be with him for a month. How much of an impact could you really make on him in that mere amount of time?