A girl with long chocolate brown hair, her bangs covering her eyes, stood still under the rain as she stared at the people passing her. "Today is another ordinary day, like any other day."

Next Day

"Hey, Maria! How are you?" asked a blonde with silver eyes as she ran up to a girl with long chocolate brown hair. The girl was spacing out as she walked steadily to a school's front gates. She snapped back to reality as soon as she heard her friend's voice. Her only friend's voice.

"Oh. Hey, Julie," Maria softly greeted back. She held her belongings tightly as she started walking again. Julie frowned. She noticed Maria has been down more often than usual.

"What's wrong, Maria? This is far off from the usual you. What happened yesterday?" asked Julie as she walked ahead of her friend and turned around, stopping Maria from walking ahead. Maria looked up at Julie straight in the eye.

"Nothing. Just an ordinary day. You don't need to worry about anything," Maria whispered back. As some students passed by, they said hello to Julie, but none said hi to Maria.

"This isn't like you, Maria. You were more energetic than this. I can't say it was just an ordinary day," said Julie as she finished saying hi to the other people.

"I told you. It was just an ordinary day. A day where no one notices me or even cares to notice me. I'm like a ghost who is just wandering around this school each day. No one cares about me. So please, Julie, don't worry about me. You don't have to force yourself either," whispered Maria as she walked past Julie, leaving her shocked.

"My gosh! She has never been that bold to tell me about her day. I need to find her someone who can make her more bolder. A boy will do," said Julie as she stood staring at Maria's back. 'Oh Maria. You'll never know what I have in store for you now.'

Ding Dong Ding!

"Serena. Check. Alex. Check. Monroe. Check. Julie. Check," said the teacher out loud as she took attendance. "Maria." Before anything came out of Maria's mouth to say she was here, the teacher said, "I guess she's not here again. Well anyway, we have a new student. Welcome him and treat him like every other classmate." As she said this, a boy with ginger brown hair and alluring green eyes stepped in. He had a smile on his face and winked at the class. The males immediately crossed their arms and looked pissed. The girls, however, feel in love with the boy and had heart shaped eyes as the kept staring at him.

"My name is Mark Sanji. I hope I'll fit in with you guys," said Mark as he spotted Maria looking through the window with a distant look. 'Why isn't she interested in a new student like the rest of the class? She's interesting,' thought Mark as he waited for the teacher's instructions.

"You may sit in that empty seat over there. Next to Maria's seat. She isn't here for today ,so Julie, show him where to sit," instructed the teacher as she became annoyed with the way the females were acting. 'Maria? There's only one seat. Why would there be someone absent then?'

"Over here, Mark!" yelled Julie as she placed her left hand on the empty seat. She seemed to be annoyed, too, but it was about something else.

"Coming," said Mark as he walked across the classroom to his seat. Girls were whispering things like; "Why couldn't I be the one to show him the seat." "That student who sits there must be lucky to sit next to a hot guy if that person was a girl. Too bad whoever that person is won't ever find that out." "Why couldn't I be the one to sit next to him? He's hot!" "I wonder what he's like. That guy is totally my type." Mark thanked Julie for showing him his seat.

"No problem. Too bad there is another person to dislike," whispered Julie as she went to her seat not to far from Maria's seat. Mark was confused about 'another person to dislike'. Who was she to judge him that quickly, but Mark put that aside. He was looking at the girl who was sitting on his right. That girl was Maria. Her quiet personality made her mysterious and her brown hair seemed very soft and smooth. If only he could see her eyes. As the teacher demonstrated how World War II ended, Mark felt himself starting to feel sleepy as he continued to stare at Maria. Not long after, the bell rang.

"Hey you. I would like to know your name," said Mark as he looked at Maria when she finished packing her belongings. Maria turned her head to look at him with a shocked expression. Mark wondered why she was shocked when he asked for her name.

"You don't need to know my name. It's not like you'll remember it. You're like everybody else in this world. Cruel and cold people," whispered Maria as she started heading out with her belongings as her face returned to her distant and shy expression. Mark found her voice soft and small, yet somehow comforting and innocent.

"Geez. She doesn't have to be that cold toward me. Although, I wonder why she had such a sad face on all the time," muttered Mark to himself as he notice a bunch of fangirls crowding around him. He started to walk faster.

During 4th Period

"Oh my gosh! Look at Mark! He's totally hot right now. I can't wait to see him play basketball," gossiped a girl as she stared at him again. Mark just walked by, winking at them until he noticed Maria in a corner further from the rest of the group, hugging her knees and looking away. Mark approached her as quiet as he could.

"Yo!"

"Ah!" yelped Maria as she jumped up from the ground. She breathed heavily as she stared at him with shock. 'Why does he keep trying to befriend me?' thought Maria.

"Why are you so far away from the group? Are you anti-social?" asked Mark as he sat beside her while waiting for the answer. Maria calmed down and sat next to him, but kept a good 12 inches away.

"I'm not anti-social and you don't need to know why I'm this far away. Maybe you should go sit with your fans. They like you better than me," Maria whispered as she started to look depressed. Mark stood up and crouched in front of her. Mark reached out with both of his hands and left them on Maria's cheek. She started to feel shy as she tried to recall any of the times a boy has touched her like that. His hands felt warm and soothing as she slowly melted into his touch, but still kept her distant expression to make sure she wasn't showing any weaknesses. Mark suddenly started pulling her cheeks with both of his hands. "Ow! Stop that! What do you think you're doing?"

"Stop having that sad look on your face. You'll look better when you start smiling. I can't stand it when you're not smiling," said Mark as he started to let go of Maria's cheek and smiled at her. For the first time, Maria smiled slightly at the energetic boy. "Ha! I got you to smile." Maria started to frown.

"Look. Class is starting. Why don't you go play basketball with the other boys," Maria whispered sadly.

"Sure, but on one condition. If I win this game, you have to spend Lunch and Free time with me. I checked your schedule earlier. We have History, PE, Lunch, Free Time, Reading, and Music together," stated Mark as he stood up and looked down on her. Maria opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She closed her mouth and started to blush. That was the first time anyone had wanted to spend Lunch with her besides Julie. "I'll take that as a yes. See ya! I'll make sure to win!" yelled Mark as he headed over to the rest of the males. Maria stared at him as he played. Girls kept shouting how he played like a pro and how handsome he was. Maria's gaze started to soften as she saw how he tried his best to win some time to be with her.

"Maybe he isn't so bad after all," whispered Maria in a gentle voice as she seemed to ignore how time passed quickly when she looks at him.