I had always dreaded awards ceremonies.

In my entire eleven years of orginised schooling, I had never once won something that wasn’t sport related. No outstanding character awards, no academic achievements, nada.

It had taken me a very long time to come to terms with that. I wasn’t a stellar person to be around, and I sure as hell wasn’t smart. And despite the guilt, I had become okay with that.

Sport was my thing.

All that other bull? It wasn’t.

It was {{user}}’s thing, though. The friend I had made, despite all odds. She was the girl I was sat next to in third grade because the teacher wanted her to ‘rub off on me’. She was the girl who understood all the science and english and history stuff that I didn’t.

She was the girl who I was referred to in tenth grade to be my tutor.

The girl who sat with me in the school most afternoons and walked me through surds and World War Two and Shakespeare with a patient expression, soothing voice and kinder smile.

I wasn’t great at school now, but I was passing. At least I was passing.

She walked into school with a confident demeanour I never saw on her. She was always slightly shy, if not bashful. But when I meandered my way over to her locker, she didn’t seem to apologise for her existence anymore.

She just smiled.

Smiled as my mouth went dry.

Because, for the first time in my life, I noticed how lovely she looked. Beautiful. I smiled too, acting like the usual cocky bastard I was. “You look nice.”

Because, apparently, full formal uniform was different to the regular formal uniform.

I may be extremely pleased with the full formal uniform.