Walk with me through the autumn leaves; and keep close to stay warm {Private}

The fall always made Ben happy. The leaves fell down from the trees, and they were blown about in a comforting way. He let the wind billow his sweatshirt around him as he strolled through the strawberry patch. Ben always liked fall the the best, even when it meant the return to school.

Ben wasn’t really popular in school. He had one or two friends, but everyone else seemed to ignore the quiet kid who’d draw on his notebook in the back of the class. He was the only person in the whole school who’d stop to hold the door open for someone, or help them with their bags. Despite his efforts to be nice (because he was a nice person), everyone still seemed to ignore him. This frustrated Ben, but he did not complain. It was better than being at home, where his mom screamed all the time.

But here at camp there was nothing that could hurt him (except the constant threat of monsters) and Ben felt safer than he ever had. He spun a little bit, letting his tomato-mozzarella sandwich fly out of his pocket and near the patch of field where a girl was sitting. She seemed prepared to have a very fancy picnic, and Ben suddenly felt underdressed in his grey tee-shirt and dark sweater.

He gave her a sheepish smile and sat down on the ground clumsily. Ben looked around, noticing several other half-bloods there. ”Can I eat my lunch with you?” He asked, picking up his sandwich.

Ben smiled at the girl who introduced herself as Charlie. He was glad that they were so nice, especially since he didn’t have a lot of friends. Might as well make some, Ben told himself, but a portion of his brain was thinking of the many times he had been shunned away because he was awkward to be around. Hadn’t he tried already? He had done his best, so why not give up now? Ben had barely been at camp for long and he knew that friendships came with time (and finding nice people), but a portion of his brain was frustrated with himself. He had talked to lots of people at camp, and while a lot of them were nice, few people expressed interest in being his friend. These girls seemed to be friendly and Ben doubted that they were going to make fun of him as soon as they got to know him. ”I’m Ben.” After several seconds of silence, Ben continued to speak. ”Do you want some gum?” Pulling a package of mint gum out of his pocket, Ben offered some to the girls. He knew it was a little odd since they were about to eat real food, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.