Az woke up and stumbled his way toward the bathroom.

He grabbed the handle and twisted it only for the door to be slammed shut.

“Hey! I’m getting dressed here!” Az's mother yelled as Az yawned.

“Why are you showering so early?” Az asked.

“Your aunt is coming over today.” Az's mother, or Gloria, said as Az waddled away.

“Alright, tell me when you’re done,” Az said as he walked back into his room.

He organized his things and it wasn’t long before he heard a knock on his door.

Az made his way into the bathroom, took a quick shower and got dressed after drying himself.

He then made his way back downstairs where a sleepy Radhi was lumbering about.

“You look… tired,” Az said as he sat by a nearby chair.

“Yeah, the supervisor was on our cases about one of the central anchors and threatened to make us work overtime if we didn’t get within the specified limits.” Radhi mumbled as he downed a cup of scolding hot coffee.

“Dad… watch it. You might disclose government secrets.” Az warmed.

“Oh? I don’t mind telling you as you’d never rat me out.” Radhi said before tightening his tie.

Gloria then entered the kitchen and quickly made Az some breakfast.

Az ate away at his rather bland oats as Radhi left for work.

Gloria made sure to pack Az his usual foodstuffs before shoving the lunchbox into his bag.

“Be sure not to lose your transit card. That thing’s worth a lifetime of trips.” Gloria said before Az got up and slipped into his polished black shoes.

“Bye!” Az said before leaving for school.

The train station was about ten minutes to the east and school started at seven thirty.

It was six forty five, so Az had time.

He eventually arrived at the train station and there he awaited the arrival of the seven o’clock train.

Az took a whiff of the cool morning air.

He enjoyed mornings like these.

Calm and relatively peaceful.

The scheduled train eventually arrived and he promptly boarded it before it zipped northward.

Az's mind slowly wondered off as he thought about his future.

He got so deep into his planning that he didn’t even notice that the train had stopped at station G02 where a bunch of people boarded it.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?” Holly suddenly asked, dragging Az back into reality.

“Mmm? Oh, hi. I was just letting my mind wonder.” Az said in a rather monotone voice.

“Oh? Are you a daydreamer?” Holly asked.

Az wasn’t sure, but he could sense that she hoped that he’d give her a certain answer, but Az didn’t want to lie so early in the year.

“No. I was planning out certain things based on the opportunities currently available to me.” Az said.

“Oh.” Holly said with a disappointed tone.

“Well, I also like to plan sometimes, but I also like to think about what else I would do if things were different.” Holly said.

Az’s eyes narrowed as he was an objectivist. This meant that he didn’t waste much time asking himself questions like “what if", but he saw no particular problem with Holly's mind-set.

It looked like she had an actual plan for her life, but she also enjoyed dabbling in the fantastic.

“Oh? That sounds interesting. What career path do you plan on pursuing?” Az asked.

“I wanna be a veterinarian.”

“Ok, but what do often dream of becoming?” Az asked.

“I’m not telling you until you tell me what your dream job is.” Holly said with a cheeky smile.

“I’m going to study mechanical engineering. So my job will most likely branch from that.” Az said as the train arrived at station G03.

The two disembarked from the train and made their way westward.

“So… have you ever thought of doing something, I dunno, a little more… out of pocket?” Holly asked.

“Mmm… not really. I did want to become a musician at one point in my life. I still have my old guitar even.” Az said as they walked.

Countless other students joined them on the path toward Acan Technical High.

“Ooh, that sounds amazing, but why did you say that in past tense?” Holly asked with a pained expression.

“Well, there are far too many variables one needs to take until account and luck may be one of them. I didn’t want to leave my future in the hands of such a flimsy concept.” Az said and he watched as Holly fell into temporary depression right in front of him.

“Oh- is that s- so…” Holly stuttered as they walked.

The two eventually arrived at the schools front entrance where a familiar face awaited them.

“When did you two get so close?” Zoey asked.

“Oh, stop it. We just live in the same direction.” Holly said.

Zoey walked up to Az and eyed him in an exaggerated manner.

“Yep! I’m sure you’ll make a fitting groom.” She said rather loudly, but Holly was seemingly unaffected by Zoey’s games.

“That’s sounds like what a woman desperate for a man would say.” Holly said and Az could almost see the veins as they popped up on Zoey’s forehead.

“Ahem! Anyway, shouldn’t you nerds be in class by now?” She asked as she walked away.

Az and Holly made their way to their class.

“Sorry about Zoey, she can be a bit weird at times.” Holly apologized right before they entered class.

“No worries. Anyway, let’s get ready for class.” Az said before walking toward his seat.

Az sat down, but just as his back touched the chair, Ryan walked up to him.

“Good morning.” Ryan greeted with a wide smile.

“Morning.” Az greeted simply.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you arrived with Holly and I must ask: how did you do it?” Ryan asked.

“Do… what, exactly?” Az asked, his eyes narrow.

“Bro, Holly is famous for her… anti dude personality. She won’t let a dude anywhere near her unless their neutered or something. Yet there you were, causally speaking to Holly herself.” Ryan said.

“Mmm… I’m not sure I have the answer to you question. Why don’t you try asking her yourself?” Az asked.

Ryan’s brows furrowed for a moment.

“Nah, I wouldn’t last a second with her. However, I am curious now. I want to know more about you. Say what, why don’t we hang out afterschool?” Ryan asked.

“Mmm… no thanks.” Az said, but Ryan leaned in closer.

So much so that Az could feel his body temperature.

“Come on, there’s a sweet karaoke joint up the road and trust me, you’ll love it there.” Ryan said with a bright smile.

Az thought about Ryan’s request.

Sure, he didn’t have much to do afterschool and making new friends was part of the course in the grand scheme of things-

“Well?” Ryan asked.

“Fine, but what exactly do you plan on having us do? I’m not that good a singer.” Az admitted.

“I- Mmm... me neither, actually." Ryan droned.

"Ugh, fine. But you owe me a date, Mr. Azizi.” Ryan said before returning to his seat.

The English teacher entered the class and the school day officially began, but Az frequently found himself wondering what Ryan had in store for him.

The prospect of learning new things and meeting new people was undoubtedly exciting in nature.

.

..

Lunch break quickly arrived and Az picked up his bag to retrieve his lunch box, but he then remembered something Zoey said the day before, promoting him to stand up and walk out of the classroom.

He made his way toward the cafeteria, which was a few doors down the hall.

There, he found Zoey sitting on one of the many benches, except she was surrounded by a bunch of people Az didn’t know.

Az quickly turned around go leave, but-

“Azizi! You came.” Zoey said as she stood up from where she sat.

She then hurriedly walked over to him before dragging him towards where she originally sat.

“Come on, guys. Say hi to Azizi.” Zoey instructed.

“Hi, Azizi.” Zoey’s friends all said in unison.

“Hi.” Az said even as his heart threatened to break through his chest in an attempt to flee.

“Aww… he’s so chubby, yet tall.” One of the girls said.

“True, I kinda wanna poke at those cheeks all day long.” Another said, but a sudden hug from Ryan interrupted their “admiration”.

“Come on, you vultures. Look at what you’re doing to my dear friend here. He’s petrified!” Ryan said overdramatically as he hugged Az with his left arm.

“Get lost, scumbag. Otherwise we’ll walk on over to the principal’s office with a not-so-true story.” Zoey said while glaring at Ryan.

“My goodness, such cruelty from such beautiful individuals.” Ryan said as Az pried himself free from Ryan’s surprisingly strong grasp.

“Get lost, idiot.” Zoey said as she and her entourage glared at Ryan.

“Fine, sheesh. Yo, Azizi, don’t forget your promise.” Ryan said as he walked away.

“What did that dog trick you into doing?” Zoey asked.

“He said he wanted to hang out sometime soon. Should I not?” Az asked.

“Definitely! Stay away from that creep.” Zoey said.

“Ok.” Az said as he received all manner of glances from Zoey’s friends.

“Anyway, Hanna’s big sis is throwing a little party this Friday. Wanna come?” Zoey asked.

Az's eyes narrowed as this was the first time he was being invited to an actually party.

“You really shouldn’t be thinking too hard about this. There’ll be everything you could possibly want and who knows…” Zoey said as she leaned in towards Az's ear.

“… you might experience as whole new world with someone special.” Zoey whispered.

The sound of her tongue sliding around in her mouth made Az's ears perk up slightly.

“Ok, I’ll come.” Az said.

Zoey smiled as the bell went off, signalling that everyone return to their classes.

“Aww, playtimes over.” One of Zoey’s friends said.

“Meh, I’m sure we’ll get plenty more opportunities to hang out with Azizi in the near future, right Azizi?” Zoey asked.

“Probably.” Az said before they all returned to their respective classes.

.

..

The learning day eventually came to an end and after saying goodbye to Ryan, Az made his way home.

The trip was rather uneventful, but he didn’t mind.

What did bother him was his clothes.

Not the ones he was wearing, but the ones which he would wear come Friday.

Az paced around the train cart as it sped southward.

In his eyes, he had done a pretty good job establishing himself in the school.

No one knew too much about him and everyone had been pretty positive in their interactions.

Az wanted to maintain this, but he didn’t know how.

You see, his dress code was fairly plane.

He wore fairly simple clothes.

Semi formal to formal clothing and rather bland hairstyles.

Az was never bullied for his appearance, but he never received any praise either.

He’d need to enhance his appearance while taking care not to draw too much attention.

Az continued to ponder as he made his way home.

He eventually arrived home and greeted his mom.

“Hey, mom… can we go clothes shopping tomorrow?” Az asked.

“Mmm? This is new. Is there something in particular that you’d like? You’re usually pretty systematic about things like this.” Gloria said.

“Yeah, but there’s a party on Friday and I thought it would be, you know, nice if I went with a new look.” Az said, but Gloria leaned against the side of the kitchen wall with a curious expression.

“What’s wrong with your current look?” Gloria asked.

“Nothing… much. I just think that it’d be cool if I wore something different for a change.” Az said before a the sound of a flushing toilet caught his attention.

He looked to his right to find a rather tall, but awfully skinny woman with thinning brown hair and even though she wore makeup, nothing could hide her yellowed eyes and hollowed cheeks.

“Hey, aunt Rose.” Az greeted, making the woman smile.

“Aww, look at how much you’ve grown over the past few years.” Rose said before giving Az a tobacco scented hug.

“Yeah, growth hormones will do that to ya.” Az said.

“Can you believe it? He says that he wants to go clothes shopping.” Gloria said.

“What? Why? You’re perfectly fine.” Rose said.

“That’s what I said, but apparently there’s a party on Friday and I’m sure he wants to dress to impress.” Gloria said with a mischievous smile.

“Well, if he wants a single set of clothing, we could go shopping tomorrow. I believe it’s a public holiday.” Rose proposed.

“Then its settled!” Gloria and Rose agreed, completely ignoring Az as he made his way upstairs.

He entered his room and it wasn’t long before he was face down on his bed.