“No. I’m just glad no one saw me.” I laughed. She laughed, too.

“So, tell me about Lewis. Want me to punch him in the face?”

“I wouldn’t want you to get suspended. My friend Donny already did,” I explained. “Lewis bullies me a lot. I hate him, and I hate how he made me look weak in front of everyone a couple weeks ago. Him and Donny have been suspended ever since,” I vented.

“You’re afraid of looking weak?” Mel asked.

“I mean, yeah. I want to be strong. I want be able to fight someone who messes with me.”

“You are strong, just in a different way. You’re gentle.”

I didn’t want to be gentle. I wanted to be the guy nobody messed with, and I was hoping kickboxing would help me get there.

“Bullies suck, dude. I’m sorry. He shouldn’t be treating you like that, and next time I’ll give him something to cry about,” she said.

Suddenly Mel got up and asked, “Wanna go for a jog?”

I was still hesitant after what had happened in the park — getting used to one area was one thing, but jogging to a bunch of different places? I wasn’t sure about that at all. Even though it was dark and there were fewer people outside, I didn’t like anyone seeing me exercise. It felt humiliating. I chose not to say anything at first.

“You afraid of the dark, Adrian?” Mel persisted.

“No,” I said defensively. “I just don’t want people to see me jogging. I feel embarrassed.”

“What’s wrong with people seeing a dude trying to get in shape?”

“Nothing. Just . . . people don’t always see you how you want them to see you,” I sighed.

“I can relate. But we should go. I want to take you somewhere. I promise it’ll be cool.”

“If you promise.” I grinned.

“Come on, weirdo,” she replied.

I followed her into the night. Jogging in the dark was calming. Everything felt so fluid, like we were on autopilot. Mel made sure to jog at my pace so I could keep up. Our feet moved in sequence. She really cared about me, and I really cared about her, but I was too shy to say anything. I would have been lying if I said that I didn’t have a crush on her, but I didn’t know how to tell her. I was worried that she wouldn’t feel the same way and it might become awkward. I was grateful for her friendship, and I didn’t want to chance losing it.

“Over here!” Mel said, almost out of breath. We were getting close to our school. We jogged past the park and made our way up the path that led to the entrance.

“Taking night classes?” I joked.

“Funny.” She still wasn’t impressed with my humour. “Follow me.”

We continued toward the school and walked past the entrance to an old fire exit.

She stopped. “I want to show you something up there.”