--->Being Human<---[ Private]

Ben woke up as his alarm started to buzz. He got up, pushed the button to make it stop and went into the bathroom. Today he was going to his new school alongside his best friend. He took a shower and opened his closet. He grabbed the clothes that were on top of the piles and put them on. A pair of jeans, a plain white shirt and blue socks.

Finally, he put on his favorite cap. It was blue, his name was on it in red letters and most importantly, it was something he got from Ashley for his birthday. "Time to go", he thought and he walked outside, a small piece of bread in his hand as he was too late to eat breakfast at home.

Ben's sack hung over his left shoulder as he sat down on a bench, waiting for the bus. When it finally arrived, he hopped on, paid and took a twoseat. He lifted his cap, went through his black, short hair with his hand and replaced the cap. His blue eyes were counting the stops the bus made. He knew where Ashley's bus stop was and he couldn't wait to see her again.

After all, it had been two days since he had last seen her.

Ben grinned as she sat down next to him. "Sorry, I don't know Russian", he joked as he put his bag between his legs. He had used it to keep a free place for her. "I'm nervous, I have no idea what to expect. It's all so new..." he replied as he was looking at the trees and the buildings which were flashing by the bus. He finally turned to make eye contact with her and smiled faintly. "And what about you?" he asked.

"I would be as well after seeing someone like me", he said with a smile. One way or another, he dared to make those kind of jokes around Ashley, but he was a shy guy in general. "And I really hope we'll be fine... At least my best friend goes there as well", he said. Concern filled his voice but it cheered up when he mentioned 'best friend'. He didn't have a lot of confidence. In fact, Ashley was his confidence. One way or another, he felt different when alongside her, he could be himself around her.

No, it wasn't love. It was an exceptionally strong friendship that bonded him with the girl and he didn't want that to change. Those who thought boys and girls couldn't be friends without being lovers were wrong as he knew Ashley since he was little and they were 'just' that: friends. They practically grew up with each other.

Ben grinned at her comment and nodded in agreement. "You're right, together we're unstoppable", he said as he started to mess with his backpack out of nervosity. He felt so lucky that he had Ashley by his side today. His father sometimes joked that they were in love and that they were a couple, that's how close they were. He looked outside once more and clenched his right hand around his backpack.

"We're there..." Ben mumbled and he repositioned his cap with his left hand. He closed his eyes and sighed. The boy turned towards Ashley and he gave her a playful jab. "Get out of here, slowy" he joked.

Ben followed her and swore under his breath when she hesitated to get off. If she had waited a bit longer, he would have pushed her off. He grabbed his bag, threw it around his left shoulder and hopped off the bus as well. "That was too slow, even for me", he said with a grin as he approached her. In front of him, and behind Ashley, was a huge building which he hadn't seen from the bus. He scratched the back of his head. "So... ready to go?" he asked her with a questioning look.

"We don't..." he mumbled as he watched the school. Why were they here? Something was special about the school and as far as he knew, he wasn't special. He nodded and stepped forward. "I'm right behind you... or in front of you, depends on your speed" he said with a smile as he raised his right hand for a high five. "We're going to push through this together. That's what friends are for, right?" he said.

Ben performed the secret handshake with her and smiled. He followed her and quickly walked at her right side. He went through his hair once more and put his cap in his bag. he didn't want to lose it. He too, had a feeling something was going to happen. It was a good pace they were walking at and he threw his bag over his shoulder again. The school was huge and he felt like a dwarf. "Do you know why we got an invitation? I mean, this doesn't look like a normal school..." he mumbled just loud enough so Ashley could hear.

Ben shook his head with a smile. She could be so active. He followed her inside and lots of voices reached his ears as he covered them in shock. Ashley disappeared in the crowd and he tried to follow them. He didn't succeed with polite questions so he started to follow her example as he softly shoved some teens to the side with the accompanying excuses. "There sure are a lot of other students here", he said as he caught up with his friend.

"I think we can get them over there" the boy replied as he pointed at a certain door. Ashley could do things he couldn't, like talking to unknown persons and he envied her for that. He didn't feel good when he heard all the noise around him and he made his way to the door. An arrow hung above it with the word 'Administration' and he waited for Ashley to arrive as well.