Over the first few weeks of school I barely spoke to the new boy, Maxwell. He had moved from Cornwall in England in April but wasn't allowed to come to school. For some reason I had this attitude towards him. I didn't like how all the girls seemed to swoon over him. They all love a good accent; even Mel thought he was cute. I agreed, I mean it's not like he was bad looking.

Unfortunately for me a cute new English boy beats friend, because Mel moved away from me in my Math 12 Advanced class, to sit with him. I was left alone in the back row to try and struggle though it myself. I was bad enough I had to do this class without anyone to ask for help but I hadn't even taken Math 11 Advanced yet. My schedule had been horrible and I was taking it next semester.

It seemed to me that this boy had just appeared to make my school year irritating to live through as I watched all the girls in our English class sigh whenever the teachers asked him to read, rolling my eyes and watching in disbelief.

Even stranger was that he showed no realization that these girls were flirting with him. I saw many of my friends have a go at trying to win his attention, none of which were successful. Eventually they seemed to realize that he was showing no interest in them and began to give up.

It was then that I actually spoke to him. I was curious at why he had such strange behavior and it frustrated me to not be able to understand how he ticked. I had always been able to spot a shallow guy or girl from a mile away. I could read them so easily, yet I couldn't figure him out.

I started trying to involve myself in conversations he was having with people, trying to understand how he worked. I had little luck and was often bored with the small talk going on around me. I preferred keep to myself, living in my own private world until the bell reminding us that lunch was almost over would ring. I would trudge to my next class keeping my ipod playing as long as possible. Any chance I got I would go to that world and block out reality.

I worked away at trying to figure out Maxwell slowly trying to immerse myself in conversations more often. It was more difficult than I had expected for I had become used to living in a bit of a social hole, not knowing anything about anyone. I didn't even know all the people in my classes. I had never cared if I didn't know who was dating who as it had no relevance to me. I didn't even like them so why should I care?

I began to notice the sarcasm barrier I had created over many years, fade as I became friendlier with the strange English boy. I began to relate to him, realizing how reassuring it was to speak to someone who had grown up in a place similar to where I had. I enjoyed the familiarity he had and before I realized it we had become friends.

He was unlike all my Canadian friends, I now felt as if I belonged. I now had someone that I could truly relate to. We began to talk none stop on msn about everything under the sun, music, life, and all the things we missed. He too had felt that sense of not belonging; coming to a different country where people couldn't understand what he would be talking about. He didn't understand the slang and I often had to translate to both him and the others. I found it amusing to see the confusion on both ends before one of them would turn to me and ask what the other was talking about.

It wasn't long after that that I realized that he had become my best friend, even more than the girls I had known for almost as long as I had lived in Canada. I never thought I would ever get to know any guy that well. Even Sam, the only other guy I saw as a proper friend was nothing compared to this. Maxwell was different; he was like me, an oddball who didn't fit in with the rest of the world.

I began to enjoy going to school because I knew that he would be there, and when I got home from work I would dash, as inconspicuously as possible, up the stairs to my computer to talk to him. We would talk until 2:00 in the morning some days forgetting the time and our need for sleep. I always wanted to be around him; just his presence alone was enough to make me happier.

Something was wrong with me…