Alma slammed her locker shut with utmost irritation. She stomped her foot and attempted to click the lock into place, giving a low groan as she tried again, then again until she finally conceded a loud grunt of anger and left it as is. Who would want to steal from a high school locker anyway? She stormed down the hall to wait at her friend Jeremy’s locker for him to get out of class. As she set down her backpack and leaned against the wall she mumbled profanities under her breathe.

“Bad day?” said Jeremy from behind her, who had just walked up on the swearing and indignant Alma.

“Come on,” Alma said, ignoring his comment and hoisting her bag across her shoulder.

“I need Starbucks.”

I promise you, Alma was not normally this vexed, this shrew. She was a nice girl, but seeing the day she had, she deserved to stomp, growl, grunt and storm. She deserved to slam her locker and spurn Jeremy’s jokes. She deserved to get a triple chocolate cookie dough frappuccino, and she deserved to have Jeremy pay for it, which he did. Discordantly, she did not deserve to have the day she had. It all started in Science…

Alma was the best student in science class. Perhaps not in math or history, but in science she excelled. She could name every part of the cell off the top of her head, she could list the formulas for chemical reactions without needing her notes, and she was, for sure her teacher’s favorite. That was, until today. A transfer student from Hamburg decided to shove his big German nose into Alma’s life and ruin it by becoming the, “Prodigy from Germany.”  Alma liked to call him the, “Oddity from Germany”  but of course, only to herself because out loud that would be quite rude.

Alma’s day didn’t improve over cafeteria pizza as she had hoped. No, her day deteriorated over broccoli and clam soup. Lumpy, clam soup. She was determined to finish the day strong, but by sixth period her head hurt from the stress and her brain was pulsing from the screams Alma had held inward. Of course, she wasn’t this flustered over one German and a bad lunch. There was much more on her mind. Alma, while being a great science student, did not quite meet the standard for an average math student. Some days she believed she had never learned to do simple mathematical things like adding or subtracting. She was currently failing the class, hence her stormy disposition.

“Alma.” Jeremy spoke as Alma bit her straw, wishing it was her teacher’s head.

“Are you okay?” She glared at him but softened when she saw the concern in his eyes. I couldn't tell him. He'd think I was stupid.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry.” She quickly thought up an alibi that even the perceptive Jeremy couldn’t see through.“Just tired,” There! Short, sweet, and simple. He’d never suspect a thing. Jeremy gave Alma a good scan but she held her smile and he soon relinquished, easing back against the counter, seemingly convinced. It was then the German Oddity walked through the door wearing a innocent grin and waving at students who were clustered throughout the cafe. He spotted Alma and walked over to her. Why is he-no-it coming this way?! She asked herself, panicking. He was only a few steps away now, blue eyes shining as he smiled at her. He glanced at Jeremy who was too engrossed in his drink to see the strange boy approaching them. Please God, don’t let him talk to me. Please let there be a another person, maybe a German, be behind me that he could be smiling at. With one last step the boy finally stood in front of Alma, who was now questioning whether she was hallucinating or on some sort of sugar induced drug trip from the frappuccino imagining he was there in front of her.

"Um, hi Alma. I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Dagoberto, but to Americans, I am Bert. You may call me that if you like.” Surprisingly he had a very subtle accent, as if he had been learning English for a very long time. Alma, however, was not impressed by this and simply raised her nose up in the air, huffing. He continued to speak, either not noticing her disliking of him or simply ignoring it.

“I wanted to say I thought you were really good in science. You’re very smart,” he said. At this Alma relaxed her sneer and lowered her raised nose.

“Wow, um, thanks,” she responded, her mouth to twitching upward subconsciously.

“You’re really smart too,” she said, quieter than before. Why am I whispering? She thought. There is no need to be so shy! While her mind pleaded for bold speech and confident actions her voice remained the same shy whisper and her face the same red shade.

“Oh why don’t you two elope already?” Jeremy said, speaking up from the counter. Alma looked over at him with wide eyes after hearing him speak up. She had nearly forgotten he was there!

“Dag- urm- Bert, this is my friend Jeremy. Jeremy, Bert,” she said, gesturing between the two. Tipping off an imaginable hat, Jeremy bowed slightly.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” He said. Bert smiled at him and obviously made the decision to play along. He returned the gesture by bowing and saying,

“The pleasure is all mine sir.” Before Alma could ask Bert any more questions about himself or strike up a new conversation with the boy and his captivating blue eyes, he was gone in a flash, being pulled out of starbucks by two students who were laughing and claiming him to go to the park with them. Just as he was slipping out of the door he waved back at Alma, a smile plastered across his German face as he said,

“See you in Science!” Alma’s heart fluttered and she was too busy watching him leave to criticize herself for this pathetic action. Instead she thought to herself happily, while sipping on her drink,  Maybe this day hasn't been that bad after all.