The Confession

In a mundane house in a mundane suburb lives a not so mundane boy named Patrick. His friends like to call him Pat though, and Pat holds his friends in high regard. However, Pat has come across something that his friends simply cannot tolerate. A girl. You see, Pat is not very old yet, he is but 10 years old, and boys of that age tend to think of girls as something repulsive, something Pat does not agree with. The girl he has his eye on is that one girl in class who doesn't know how to handle boys at all, the one who gets confused and takes everything seriously. Her name is Jenny. She always seems to be confused and lost, and Pat couldn't help but feel a little bit sorry for her. However, he has not said anything to her yet since going ahead and talking to a girl isn't as simple as it might seem to someone of his age.
This morning he has his eyes set on a goal however, and that is to finally speak to Jenny, tell her that she is not alone and that the boys in the class don't really mean the things they are saying. And maybe even reveal the strange and new emotions he has only now come to realization of since Jenny caught his eye. For him these challenges lay ahed as he has planned on confronting Jenny during the last recess of the day. He is not a shy person by any means since he has made many good friends, but this time it's something completely out of the ordinary, and something his friends would raise an eyebrow at, so naturally he is worried. His worryings are interrupted however by a familiar voice, "Hey, Pat!". It's one of his friends, James. "Why're you looking so down?" he asks, like any good friend would. Of course the real reason cannot be told to a friend "It's just that my mom yelled at me last night." Pat says, succeeding in distracting his friend. "Oh, that sucks, but why would she do that?"
With James asking innocent questions and Pat coming up with lies to cover up lies, the day goes by fairly quickly. Pat spots Jenny several times as well, awkwardly stealing glances at her whenever possible. To his dismay, this hasn't gone unnoticed by James, as he confronts him after class "I saw you looking at that Jenny girl over there, like all the time. What's up with that?". At a loss for words and completely flustered, Pat doesn't really know what to say. After some feverish thinking he comes to the conclusion that since James is a good friend, he might understand his circumstances, and tells him "I'm kind of interested in her." and promptly blushes all the way to his ears. The truth is always the hardest to tell after all. "Oh, I see. It's still kind of weird though. Why would you be interested in her, she's sorta awkward you know.", James replies, a much better outcome than what Pat had imagined. "I don't know, I just can't help but feel sorry for her a little bit. It seems like everybody is teasing her and she doesn't know what to do.", he says truthfully again, relieved that he can be this open to James. His relief comes to an abrupt end at James' next words, "So, what are you going to do to help her?".
He set a goal for himself earlier that day, and he's going to reach it even if it doesn't amount to anything. That is what keeps Pat's spirits up right before the final recess, the home stretch so to speak. Still, the thought James' words can't be dismissed that easily, mostly because he is right, as much as it hurts Pat to admit it. He's only one little boy, there's no way he'll be able to make the other kids tease Janice, or even better, leave her alone. The best he can hope for is that Jenny will be happy to know that she's not entirely invisible to the general public save for when she's getting bullied The bell rings to signal the end of the second to last class of the day, and the start of the final recess. Once outside, Pat starts looking for Jenny, starting from her usual preferred location which is right beside the school doors. And there she is, as expected, and not being bothered by anyone at the moment either. Jenny does spot Pat walking toward her and instantly looks away, as if to say "He's just going to make fun of me, I'll have to try and ignore him."
Pat can't help but feel hurt by Jenny's reaction, but he made a decision, he'll make sure to follow through. "H-Hey, Jenny! Could I, um, speak to you for a while, uh, maybe, if it's not a bother?" he blurts out and instantly feels like he's failed horribly, that his mind refused to cooperate with his mouth and formed the wrong words. To his suprise however, not only did he catch Jenny's attention, but also earned a small hint of a smile for making a complete fool out of himself. "Sure, if you only want to talk then that's okay.", Jenny replies and almost makes Pat squeal with joy. Now that his horrible conversation opener jas been wiped from his mind, he states with newfound confidence, "Jenny, I think I might like you little bit. Could you maybe be friends with me? I know the other boys are always mean to you, but they don't really mean it, and I would never say those kinds of things to you.". At this point Jenny is overwhelmed by a potent mixture of positive emotions, as she is blushing and can't stop smiling. "I didn't know boys were interested in being friends with girls", she manages to mumble. "Well, neither did I really, but I think i would be interested in being your friend." is Pat's response, finally able to express the emotions he has been dealing with for the past couple of months. After a heartstoppingly suspenseful silence Jenny finally replies with the widest and most sincere of smiles, "I would love to be your friend" and jumps towards Pat a little bit, landing a quick kiss on his cheek. Pat is of course dumbfounded at this sudden development. He wasn't expecting such a forceful reaction. And so, staring at Jenny in a daze, unable to say a word he almost doesn't realize that the bell has rung to signal the end of recess. He does eventually get it and he and Jenny walk inside and back to class, both still more than slightly confused yet happy.
During the final class Pat gets scolded by the teacher for paying absolutely no attention to anything and generally spacing out. He doesn't mind however, since he noticed that Jenny has been stealing glances at him every so often, a complete reversal of the situation earlier that day. Having cooled off a little bit after the teacher's scolding Pat finally comes to full realization of just how strong Jenny's response has been and wonders to himself if this is really how girls act with friends. The answer is not important though. The final class is over and the students released from their slight boredom. Even before Pat can get off of his seat though, he is confronted by James: "What happened between classes? You looked like you lost your mind or something all of a sudden". "Well, something like that I guess" is Pat's reply, and it is at least somewhat truthful. "I'm guessing it's got something to do with Jenny since you mentioned her earlier. And she was staring at you all the time", a keen observation by James. "Yeah, I'm friends with her now I think. Anyways, I need to go now James, I'll see you tomorrow" Pat says, wanting to end the conversation so he can go after Jenny who already left the classroom. "Oh, okay, see you tomorrow."
And there she is again, at her favorite hangout by the door. She has been waiting for Pat. "I kinda forgot to ask earlier, but what's your name?", she says timidly, a very valid reason to wait too. "It's Patrick, but my friends always call me Pat.", he says, a slight tremble of excitement in his voice. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow Pat", Jenny says, again with that sincere smile. "See you" he says and waves her goodbye. On his way home he can't help but think that he achieved something meaningful today, made an impact on someone just by doing something as simple as go talk to them. "Maybe this is why adults always go on about the little things in life".