I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

The theme is love, it said. Love and Loss.
C’s attention flickered to Neo, whose eyes were steady on the board.
C
swallowed and read the answer Neo wrote for him. Surprised, the
teacher
nodded and went on with the lecture.
C said thank you. Neo never answered him.
Over the course of that year, even if Neo was out half the week, the
two fell into a routine. C grabbed their textbooks every day, and
when C had to answer a question, Neo would give him hints
beforehand and lead him in the right direction. Even if he ended up
being wrong sometimes, C didn’t care. He was just happy to
understand.
Neo got curious the closer he and C got. He asked where C’s name
comes from. C said he was the youngest child, his mother’s last, and
she wanted to name him after her heart. C asked where Neo’s name
comes from. Neo said his parents were religious, and they named
things for reasons he didn’t care to understand.
C asked Neo why he had so many books. Neo said books were an
infinite source of escapism. C asked if Neo had any friends. Neo said
he had two weirdos. Neo asked if C had any friends. C said sure.
Neo asked if C had any real friends. C was silent for a while, then he
asked Neo if he could borrow a book.
That’s when Neo began to fantasize. He couldn’t wait for class
anymore without smiling to himself. He’d let his touch linger over C’s
when he handed him a textbook. And it didn’t skate by him that C
sometimes got flustered when he caught himself leaning too close,
or Neo fixed his hair.