My eyes caught Mad entering our room and walking closer to Sam and me. "Hi, I saw you and Cassy talking. What did she do now? I wasn't able to catch you since I had to park my car." Mad asks me while Sam is listening.

"Nothing to worry about, Mad; I can handle her." I give Mad a side smile, my way of convincing him that I'm fine.

"If you say so."

"Goodness, Cassy hasn't changed, such a bully. Don't worry, Angel, we got your back, me, Luke, and Mad." Sam reassures me as she squeezes my hand. Sweet girl.

"Thank you guys, but I'm perfectly fine. You don't have to think about me; I don't intend to be a burden..."

"No, you're not; Angel, we're friends. Stop that." Sam is fast to cut me off.

"Yeah. How about we go to the park during our break? You like it there, right? We can talk well in there as we need some air. Sam and Luke could come if they want to." Mad looks at Sam and me back and forth.

"Sure," Sam exclaimed. "That's a good idea. I haven't stayed there for a long time. I'll talk to Luke."

"I guess it's already set. Angel, you don't have to worry if it's hot during lunch break, we have a place to stay there, and it's a little bit cold because of the massive amount of trees."

Later after lunch, my friends and I did things as planned. And they were right; the park is slightly cold as it's full of giant trees, keeping the temperature a little bit low. As soon as we settle in the middle of the forest, I immediately feel calm with how serene the place is, the green scenery, the tweets, and the humming of the birds. It's like being transported to a different dimension when it's literally a few steps away from the school buildings.

There are stone benches on the side of the path leading to the deep forest. The path is flawlessly clean and well-maintained and even the grounds below the trees themselves are clean. I can clearly say that it's man-made as the trees are in rows and columns and are grouped according to their species.

"Angel, how do you like it so far?" Sam asks.

I jolt in Sam's direction sitting on one of the stone benches beside Luke. "Great, it's beautiful; thank you guys for bringing me here."

"No problem. If you want to look around, Mad can tour you. I'll stay here with Sam," Luke says as he gladly wraps his arms around Sam. Sam squeals a bit which freaks out Maddox.

Maddox shrugs his shoulders, and then he holds my hand and pulls me to follow him. "Let's go, Angel, let's leave them alone."

"Enjoy…" Luke shouts as we walk away from them.

"Don't listen to that idiot Angel; he could be messy sometimes." Mad reminds me, heading straight in the path.

I gladly follow, ignoring Luke and focusing on the soothing view as we go deeper into the forest. It's incredible that the place is man-made and to think that it's inside the school campus.

"Finally, there's a place in this school that we can safely say is not toxic, unlike most of our classmates in school," Mad says as he leads me to one of the stone benches.

I sit on the edge, and he follows; we are so close to each other, racing my heartbeat each time I get so close to him. Mad let go of my hand, placing it on my lap. I opt to ignore the awkward feeling of having him by my side. "We're on the same page. I wonder how you guys cope with this kind of toxic atmosphere in our room. Only a few weeks of being here, and I'm barely hanging on."

Mad giggle. "You'll get used to it, Angel." We laugh in unison. "By the way, when did you start loving nature? Just curious."

"When I was a kid, my mom used to take me to the park because it's the only way we get to spend time outside the home. We can't afford to go to the mall as we spend too much money, which is unnecessary as we try to meet ends. Park is my playtime as a kid, and I earn lots of beautiful memories in the parks. I think it's what stays in me until now."

"That seems like a nice childhood, though. Having limited resources doesn't mean a person can't live a good life. Even rich people could live a sad life despite the money that they have."

I wonder if he's talking about himself. I can't ask Maddox about personal things; I don't think I have the courage. "But people like them have too many options in their hands; I bet countless of options."

"That's subjective, I think. Anyway, would you like to go to the other end of the forest?" Mad diverts the topic that I think he's not comfortable talking about his status. So, I choose to drop it as well.

"Sure, I'm up," I exclaim. "I've been meaning to visit this place as I know this is a place where I truly enjoy staying, not like the suffocating room that we are in every day. The thing is, we've been busy with our school activities, and I had to take care of Max as well. I forgot about this forest for weeks."

"Yeah, the school activities and academics are getting heavier these days. So, how was Max?"

"No positive improvements, Mad; I'm losing hope. I pity him for staying long and alone in the hospital. Mom has to bear the expenses as I don't have a source of income. It's a shame I didn't think about it before getting a pet. Max should have had a better vet and clinic from the start; his disease would have been prevented immediately."

"Stop blaming yourself, Angel. You cannot give up; please don't, stay with Max, and keep believing he'll be fine."

"Thank you, Mad; these past few days have been hard for me. Sometimes I find it hard to be motivated at school when I think about Max in the clinic fighting for his life. I need to focus and be good at school; I can't disappoint my mom."

"You are such a good daughter Angel; your mom must be proud of you. Lucky you still have someone by your side you call mom." Mad says, his voice is brittle. I could understand; losing a mother would be the hardest without a doubt. I don't see life without my mom.

"Well, she's all I got; my mom is a good mother to me as well. I only want to pay her back as she never failed to give what's best for me, which I am grateful for."

"I hope to meet her soon."

I certainly don't expect Max to say it, but I choose to ignore the weird feeling of him wanting to meet my mom. "Sure, when everything is fine, you can visit. But our place is not so spacious like the one you're used to." I shift on him, pressing a thin lip smile.

"I don't mind, Angel. Hey, I almost forgot about our plan to rescue street dogs. Are you still up?"

"Of course, but I'm afraid I can't do it this time. You know I still have to look after Max when I'm out of school and then study when I get home. Probably by next month, I can."

"Sure, I completely understand; I just thought of asking you again since I do it every week. The invitation is always open for you."

"Looking forward to rescuing street fur babies with you soon. I would be glad to be part of changing the lives of street dogs."

"Happy to hear that, Angel," Mad says as he squeezes my hand a little, which startles me. I shift to him again, meeting his eyes. His eyes tell me that he has a beautiful soul. His deep black orbs seem to glitter now, unlike the first time I saw him.

The only thing bordering him and me is his curly hair, which shields him from letting people fully know him. To this day, I still don't have the strength to ask him why he covers his beautiful face with his hair.