I was 9 when I first met him. My mother and I were going to some party, I had a step dad but I hated him, so let’s leave it at that.

For a 9 year old, grown up parties were boring, especially when there is no other kids to play with.  I was just about to complain to my mother when all of a sudden a boy walked out from behind a group of people. He looked like he was just wondering around trying to find a source of entertainment that could save him from his boredom.

“Ohh Holly honey, look.” My mother directed as she pointed over towards the boy.

“That’s Yixing, my friend’s son, go play with him” she said in a quirky voice as she patted my back assuring me.

This was a moment of conflict for me, I did want to play with him, but I was too shy. How would I ever approach him?

“Quick, go on, we’ll be over at the patio if you need us” my mother said and started to walk over to her friends along with my step dad.

I was left alone in a backyard full of random people. Standing there felt to awkward for me so I decided to slowly make my way to where the boy is. He was currently kneeling down beside the garden bed looking at something, it must be interesting because he looked so intrigued. Because of this I also felt intrigued by what he could be looking at so I decided to walk subtle steps and make my way up behind him.

“What are you looking at” I ask. Surprised by my presence, he flinched as he turned around to look at me.

“Uhh I’m looking at the worms in the soil” he said nonchalantly as he turned back to observe the worms once again. In order to see the worms myself, I too kneel down beside him.

“How many have you seen?” I question. Honestly I wasn’t very interested in the worms, but that’s all I could think of to talk about.

“So far I’ve only seen two, because they rarely come out to the top of the soil” he answered.

“Ahh okay” I responded before falling into an awkward silence again. He mustn’t talk much.

“What’s your name?” He asks out of the blue.

“Holly”

“Ho-lee?” he sounds out as he looks at me for confirmation. I nod with a smile on my face.

“That’s a nice name, it’s different” he says.

“What’s your name?” I asked even though I already knew, but he didn’t know that.

“My name is Yixing, but sometimes it gets hard for people to pronounce, so I have Lay as a nickname. You can choose what to call me.”

“Wow, Yixing is very unusual but I like it, it’s different. I will call you Yixing” I say as I giggle.

“How old are you Yixing?” I ask.

“I just turned 12 a few days ago, how old are you?” he inquires.

“I’m 9 years old” he nods in understanding.

“Are you bored at this party?” he asks.

“Yes! I’m so bored, there’s nothing to do and the adults are just talking about business stuff” I explain.

“I must have the most boring birthday party in history then?” he asks forlornly.  

“What!? This is your birthday party? Where are the presents? Where are the decorations? Most importantly, where are your friends?” I ask in disbelief. He chuckles at my reaction even though his face showed sadness.

“It’s what happens when you have rich business parents, they use any opportunity hold a party for their business partners, even their son’s birthday. It would also seem very unprofessional to have presents, decorations and kids scattered everywhere” he explains bitterly. I felt so sorry for him, how could his parents put their business over their son’s own happiness?

“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Yixing, Happy Birthday to you!” I sing to him in order to take the gloom away from this conversation.

He smiles at my efforts and gives me a short hug to thank me for trying to brighten up his day.

“Hey Yixing, I saw an Ice-cream shop down the street, do you want to get out of here?”

“Sure, but what about money?” he asks.

“Don’t worry, I have some” I say as I grab his hand and stealthily run to the front of the large house.

Once we made it to the Ice cream parlour, I took off my purple converse shoes and grabbed money from them. Yixing looked at me in disbelief, but I could tell he thought it was cool trick.

“Do you always put money in your shoes?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’ve always done it since I saw it on a movie when I was younger, I guess it’s become a habit now”

With the money we both ordered the ice cream and sat down at one of the tables.

That day we talked and talked. We became friends instantly and never wanted the day to end. But sadly, it did and we had to rush back to his house so we wouldn’t get in trouble for going missing.

“Thanks for the ice cream and being my friend” he said when we got back to the party where there were no signs of any parents worrying about our disappearance.

“No problem, I had fun” I said as we went to sit down on a two person swinging chair”

“How will we contact each other?”  I ask knowing full well that we probably won’t see each other any time soon.

“Do you have a phone?”

“No, my step dad is against it, we even argued. He said I’m too young which I understand I am but now days, it’s a social norm”

“He really sounds like a , excuse my language”

“Yeah he is and its okay at our house, his language is far fouler” There’s more that goes on in the house than that but I don’t really want to talk about it.

“Well do you have any other means of communication?”

“I have an iPod that has that messaging system”

“That’s perfect, here, put your details into my phone and I will contact you” he says as he pulls the latest iPhone out of his pocket.

I quickly enter my contact details and hand the phone back to him. I was about to say something but a voice interrupts us.

“Oh Holly, there you are, guess what we have some exciting news” she says.

“I was talking to Yixing’s mother and we came to the conclusion that you should go to the same school! His education program sounds way better than what you currently have, she even said that you could come over when he has tutoring sessions so you can get help. Isn’t that wonderful?”

It was safe to say I was surprised at how my mother could rashly make decisions, but I also got a little happy thinking I could be in the same school as Yixing and see him nearly every day.   

“Ahh I suppose that’s cool, is that a good idea Yixing?” I ask in need of his confirmation.

“Yeah, sure it will be cool to be in the same school”

“Great! I will go talk to your mum now, See you later” my mother says as she walks off once again.

“Did we just become school mates?” I ask

“I think so” he replies.