COMPETITIVE (SAMPLE)

Episode #4:

Classes passed by pretty quickly after lunch, which meant that it was just you and Keith sitting in his classroom. Keith was listening attentively as he was taking notes in front of him. You were watching him intently, wanting to try and learn how to take notes. You were pretty confident about this part. Of course, you were probably struggling in every class, but at least you knew how to write an A+.

Keith seemed to sense your stare and looked up at you. He grinned at your attempts to copy his writing and chuckled slightly. "Need help?", he asked jokingly. You smiled back before replying. "Maybe a little", you said as you wrote something down and showed Keith your notes, "see?". He chuckled and leaned back against his chair. "I'm impressed, but I think that you'd have trouble with this one". He pointed towards your note.

"You know English so why aren't you taking notes?", you questioned him. He sighed. "I know enough English to get by, but I prefer to listen to music or watch TV than take notes. If you're gonna keep trying to copy me, then you might as well take advantage of my ability to teach".

"Why?", you whined quietly. Keith chuckled and ruffled your hair affectionately. "Because I'm always paying attention to other peoples' reactions during class. Also, I enjoy hearing you scream like a girl when the teacher calls on you", he added. You slapped his hand away from your head. "I hate you".

"And I love you too", Keith stated as he smiled at you before turning his attention back to his book. After about 10 more minutes, the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the first period. Everyone began packing up their things in silence as they waited for the next two periods to begin. Suddenly, Keith spoke up. "Alright. Class is over. Let's head to our next class now". He stood up and grabbed his phone before heading out of the classroom with you following right behind him. When you made your way down the hallway, you stopped suddenly, causing Keith to bump into you.

"Sorry" you apologized sheepishly.

Keith just shook his head with a small chuckle and kept walking until you caught up to his side. After a few moments of silence, Keith cleared his throat and started speaking up. "Listen, About the other night-" he paused as you glared at him. "-you should know that I'm sorry". He looked over at you for a moment as he tried to decide on the best way to continue. You just kept glaring at him with a raised eyebrow. "Fine. Whatever", Keith huffed. "What I'm saying is... I'm sorry about earlier. I got angry."

A smirk appeared on your lips. "Oh, believe me, I know you did. You were yelling at him even before I walked in", you remarked as you put on your jacket. "Look, I don't want to say that I understand where you are coming from, but I don't blame you for getting mad. I do kinda regret yelling at him too, but I don blame you either. We both acted selfishly", you explained.

"No. It was not selfish, Mckenna. You don't deserve to be treated like that."

"Okay, well, maybe I would have reacted the same way if I was the one who was hit by whatever that guy threw at me, but still", you insisted as you crossed your arms. You didn't want to argue with Keith, but you were getting frustrated. You needed him to understand what happened earlier. "He's still my friend and I should let you get rid of that friendship just because of what I felt. You guys are friends too now and you shouldn't treat each other like we do now", you averred, hoping that Keith would understand what you were trying to say. "But hey! Don't worry, buddy. I won't tell anybody", he reassured you with a reassuring smile.

You smiled softly. "Thank you". Keith nodded in response as a silent conversation seemed to transpire between you both. You both understood each other perfectly. The two of you decided to stop bickering and make your way to class.