#sh:nadia

Brody’s perspective

Brody felt very grateful that his new parents let him hang out with his friends at ThrifTea. His former foster parents always treated him like he was up to no good, which wasn’t fair. He wondered what he did to make them think that way.

When he got to ThrifTea, Nadia greeted him and showed him a stupid meme on her phone. Then he got to meet some more of his new classmates.

There was Avery, a soft-spoken girl who seemed more comfortable with the boys.

Then there were Kiely and Carmelo. Kiely was Nadia’s best friend and they were attached at the hip. Carmelo seemed pretty cool.

Malik and Toru were also hanging out that night. They were all being nice to him, but he clammed up a bit when they started asking questions. He wasn’t ready to tell everyone that he’d just been adopted and was getting used to a whole new family. 

Brody decided to distract everyone from prying more into his personal life by going up to the microphone and telling some jokes. He got a few laughs, but people were more interested in mingling than watching him perform. He knew he would have to open up eventually if he wanted to make some genuine friendships, but the thought was scary.

When Brody got to school the day after his parents talked to Mr. Langerak, he felt a bit embarrassed.

He hoped none of his friends knew that his parents talked to his teacher. He had to collect himself in the bathroom before he headed to class.

Once he got to class, he felt better knowing Tom wouldn’t be there. He was still a little worried about what Tom would do when he came back, but his parents assured him that it would be taken care of.

At lunch, he got a seat next to Nadia. She seemed in good spirits. Brody wished he could read her better. If only there was a thought bubble over her head that would tell him what she thought of him. The thought of getting rejected was too much for him.

When he got home, he made sure to do his homework. His parents talked to him about taking his work more seriously. They weren’t mad that his grades were slipping, just concerned. Brody didn’t want to let them down. 

Brody’s perspective

After school, Brody and his friends met up at ThriftTea. His parents let him hang out there once a week, as long as his homework was done.

 Brody was excited when Nadia wanted to talk to him. Unfortunately, their friend Carmelo tagged along. It was hard to get any one-on-one time with Nadia at their gatherings.

Nadia asked him why Mr. Langerak had wanted to talk to him after class. Brody wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t want his friends to know yet that he was adopted. He wasn’t comfortable talking about such personal things with them. 

He decided to tell her that Mr. Langerak wanted to discuss his grade on a recent project. No one needed to know that he actually did well on it. Luckily, Nadia and Carmelo accepted his explanation. He hated lying to his friends, but he wasn't ready to tell them the truth.

Brody’s perspective

It was Brody’s first day at his new school, and he was feeling nervous. He arrived a bit early and decided to get in a run on the treadmill before class. Running had always been a way for him to clear his mind, and his mind was full of thoughts that morning.

He still wasn’t sure what to think about Johnny and Paul. They seemed nice, but so did his foster parents, and they decided they didn’t want him anymore. What if his new parents decided the same thing? He pushed the thought out of his mind as he continued his run.

His first class went okay. Mr. Langerak seemed cool, and none of his classmates gave him a hard time, despite being new.

At lunch time, he found an empty seat and sat down. He recognized one of the girls at the table from his first class. Her name was Nadia, and Brody couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was. She seemed a bit sad, though, so he didn’t strike up a conversation. 

A couple of the other kids introduced themselves and they seemed nice enough.

He started to think maybe this school wouldn’t be so bad.

Brody's perspective

It’s time for another exam, but this time Brody is more prepared. He’s been doing a lot more studying lately in order to keep his grades from slipping. It’s been working–he managed to get his average up to an A.

At lunch time, he realized Tom was back. Mr. Langerak came and sat at his table, so Tom didn’t bother him. Brody and his friends didn’t mind Mr. Langerak hanging out with them. He was one of the cooler teachers at the school. 

Brody did his best to ignore Tom’s presence. Luckily, he was sitting by Nadia, which was a good distraction. He noticed she sat by him in class as well. 

He was still a little confused about how he felt about her and vice versa. She was a good friend. Maybe he didn’t need it to be anything more than that. Or maybe he was just afraid that she wouldn’t feel the same way. He tried to push any thoughts of something more than friendship with Nadia out of his mind for the time being.

Brody’s perspective

Brody was still bothered by Tom and his bad behavior, but he still had his friends to lean on. A few of them called Tom out on his behavior, and they did their best to distract Brody from the situation. 

They still hung out at ThrifTea every week. Brody was getting closer to them, especially Nadia. He kept thinking about asking her out, but she could be a bit moody. Today she was complaining a lot about her parents. 

Brody wasn’t sure what to do when she started crying. He thought he should comfort her, but he felt awkward doing so.

He tried to be encouraging, but she just wanted to be left alone. She walked away from the group to get a glass of water. 

Brody decided to be bold. He followed her into ThrifTea. It was poetry night, so he decided to read a funny poem to see if he could cheer her up. To his surprise, she sat down and watched, and even seemed amused. Maybe he wasn’t so bad at dealing with awkward situations after all.

Brody’s perspective

Talking to Johnny about his upbringing made Brody feel a bit more understood. Still, it was hard to talk about his feelings. In a way, he wished it was easier to do so, but mostly he was relieved his parents didn’t force him to open up to them. 

He continued to put his focus on school, which was still going well. He usually spent his mornings in the exercise room. There was exercise equipment at home, but he liked having a little peace and quiet when he worked out, which was hard to come by at home. 

In class, he kept hoping that Nadia would sit by him, but no such luck. He thought about asking her out, but he wasn’t sure how she felt. He didn’t want to make things awkward with his new friend group. 

He tried to pay attention in class, but his mind was all over the place–his new family, his old family, Nadia–it was all too much. 

After class, Mr. Langerak asked to speak with Brody. He assured him he wasn’t in trouble. He asked Brody how things were going and if there was anything he wanted to talk about. Brody assumed Mr. Langerak knew about his family situation–after all, he was Paul’s sister-in-law's brother-in-law (in other words, he was married to the brother of his uncle Matt’s wife Kaylynn). Brody insisted things were fine and that he didn’t need to be checked on. Mr. Langerak said he was free to talk to him if anything changed. 

Brody’s perspective

After a few days, Brody began to feel more comfortable at school. He was getting more familiar with his classmates and their personalities. He knew who to steer clear of and who seemed like they would make good friends.

He was at his locker one day when Nadia approached and started putting things into the locker next to his. 

Brody was surprised because he didn’t realize her locker was there. Nadia asked him how he was liking school so far. He told her that everyone seemed pretty cool.

“Yeah, there’s just a couple of people you need to avoid,” Nadia said. “I can introduce you to my friend group, though.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, sure! I think you’ll like them. We hang out at ThriftTea sometimes if you want to join us one day.”

“Cool.” Brody felt happy that he was making a new friend, one that was willing to help him get acquainted with other people in the school as well. Plus, she was even prettier up close.