Apology and compliments.

Sarah and I went back to class when the bell rang. The closer we got to the classroom, the more I would drag my feet. Eventually, though, I had to go in. Sarah patted me on the back and made me go in first.

I couldn’t help it. I went in with my head low, looking down at the floor as I went to my seat. I thought everyone’s eyes were on me, even when I didn’t see anyone actually looking my way. Then, as I was about to reach my seat, a gentle tap on my shoulder almost made me have a heart attack.

I turned around to find Grace there, looking at me with a soft, gentle smile. Behind her was the giant Mark, hands in his pockets and glancing to the side with a frown.

“Oliver? Mark here would like to say something to you,” Grace said. Her easygoing expression was at odds with what Sarah told me. You wouldn’t believe she had done anything but give the big guy a bit of a scolding. “Mark?”

Mark let out a drawn out sigh before he turned his eyes to me. To be fair to him, he did look remorseful, I thought. “Sorry about the way I snapped. I shouldn’t have said any of that and I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I… I don’t know what came over me, man. I… I really am sorry.”

I think a part of me didn’t want to accept his apology. I didn’t think what he’d said was wrong, but now that my head was clearer thanks to Sarah, I knew I hadn’t done anything to deserve being yelled at like that. But that was just me being petty. I had snapped at my sister before. I could understand that sometimes the mouth moves before the brain understands what it’s doing.

I nodded to his apology. “Thanks. It’s… It’s alright now.” I didn’t know what else to say, but I definitely wouldn’t tell him doing that had been okay or that it didn’t bother me, because it had.

The teacher came into the room for third period, and everyone returned to their seats. But before Grace returned to hers, she approached me and spoke in hushed tones. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah. Sarah helped a lot.”

“I’m glad.” She sighed with a relieved smile. “We’ll talk more later, okay?”

“Okay.”

That later came very soon. The moment the bell rang, Grace, Sarah and Mila came up to my desk and the three of us made our way to the old music room for lunch.

“Gah, I’m so stressed!” Mila groaned, stretching her arms high. “I’m not the only one looking forward to coming here, am I? It’s like we’re getting away from it all.”

“Yeah,” Sarah said. “Getting some actual privacy in school is rare enough. This room is like holy ground.”

We grabbed a couple of desks and chairs that were still in good condition, put them together and sat around the improvised lunch table with our lunch boxes.

“How are you doing, Oliver?” Mila asked me. “Sorry about what happened. We didn’t expect Mark to blow up like that.”

I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. It… It did hit me hard, but I’m alright now.”

“I don’t get what happened,” Grace said, frowning and crossing her arms under her chest. “Mark can be aggressive, yeah, but not for dumb reasons and not to a stranger who’s done nothing wrong. It’s even weirder that he’d do that in front of Amanda. That’s not gonna earn him any points with her.”

Sarah shrugged. “He just got jealous that his crush finds Oliver more attractive. He’s always been proud of being so tall, so seeing Amanda hitting on a short guy probably struck a nerve.”

“Do you like Amanda, Oliver? Think she’s cute?” Mila asked me. It made me a little nervous because her tone was casual, almost like she was asking me what I brought for lunch. Was she testing me? Thankfully, I didn’t have to hide anything.

“N-Not really. I mean, yes, she’s cute, but…”

“But…?” Grace asked, expectantly.

“You’re all… cuter.”

I heard Mila and Sarah chuckling, but Grace beside me shook her head with a wry smile. My chest suddenly went below zero.

“Riiight,” Mila said, grinning teasingly at her brunette friend. “Grace doesn’t like compliments.”

“That’s not it.” Then, with a gentle tone, Grace explained it to me. “Listen, Oliver, I know you meant well, and I’ll come off as picky saying this, but… if you can, try avoiding compliments that compare one girl to another. Like, I’m happy you think I’m cute, but there’s no need to compare us to Amanda, right?”

“…Oh!” I understood immediately. After all, Amanda was Grace’s friend. Even if I was calling Grace and the others cute, I was also implying their friend wasn’t up to their level. “I see. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through…”

Grace kissed my cheek. “It’s fine. I know you just wanted to say something nice to us. Sorry for overreacting.”

I didn’t think that was overreacting. That was what Mark had done. Grace simply explained to me why she didn’t quite like what I’d said, and I appreciated that.

“Excuse her, Oliver,” Sarah told me. “Like she said, Grace is picky with compliments.”

“I like compliments as much as anyone. What I hate is when guys think you’ll drop your panties just because they called you hot. Or how they think the only way to say something nice is to put other girls down.”

“Okay, I get that,” Mila agreed. “I’ve had guys come up to me and tell me I’m prettier than you two, and that makes me mad.”

“You can usually tell when someone’s trying too hard,” Sarah said. “Like when they throw compliments every other minute, or when they say how stunning you look even though you’re just in sweats.”

“Worst is when you start dating a guy and the compliments just stop entirely. They think they’ve ‘got you’, so they take you for granted and get lazy in the relationship.”

I swallowed. I’d never been in a relationship, but those all sounded like things I could’ve done without realizing it.

“What… What should a guy say, then?” I dared to ask.

“Mmm, good question,” Grace said. She took a finger to her lip and pondered on it. “Complimenting appearance is nice, but it’s more effective when the girl’s put effort into her looks.”

“Yeah, like when we pick a special outfit,” Mila agreed. “I’d also like for them to notice when you’ve done something different.”

Sarah nodded. “Like a different haircut, a different perfume or you’re wearing different earrings. But they shouldn’t focus only on physical aspects, either. Praising anything you feel proud of works, but only if it’s honest praise and not an excuse to get in a girl's pants.”

I… Should I be taking notes? I felt like I should.

We ate and continued the casual conversation. I tried to participate more, but I was mostly listening and asking follow-up questions. I was happy just listening to them, and it helped me forget what had happened just before with Mark. But as lunch break was coming to an end, I remembered the topic Mila and I wanted to discuss with Grace and Sarah.

“Oh! By the way,” I started. “Um… M-Mila and I had an idea this morning.”

“Oh yeah, that!” Mila nodded for me to go on.

“We… We realized that if we arrive earlier in the morning, we can… come to this room before class since they don’t seem to lock it. What do you two think?”

“Hoh?” Grace grinned. “That sounds interesting.”

“I’m waking up early every day, anyway,” Sarah said. “I even wait for about 20 minutes after I’m done at home before I come to school. I’d have no problems arriving earlier.”

“40 minutes of extra privacy in school?” Grace chuckled. “Sounds worth waking up early to me. Sign me up.”

Well… That was easy. Them accepting that so readily was more proof that they really did enjoy being with me. It sure helped one forget about the bitter moments of the day.