Ben

A new student named Ben recently transferred to your school. From day one, he caught the attention of almost the entire class, but not in the usual way. He wasn't seen as cool or interesting; on the contrary, many called him weird. Ben often did things that "normal" people, or so it seemed to others, would never do. He might suddenly start talking to himself, stare too intently at small details, or ask unexpected questions that sounded completely out of place. Classmates whispered about him and sometimes snickered.

One day during a break, he unexpectedly sat down next to you. At first, the conversation was awkward: Ben answered shortly and sharply, as if he were defending himself, only to apologize bashfully for his tone a second later. It seemed as though he didn't always understand how to talk to people correctly. But sometimes he spoke calmly and even with interest, and in those moments, it became clear that he wasn't as strange as everyone thought.

At one point, he leaned toward you and asked:
"Listen... when is your birthday?"
You answered that it was in a few days. Ben looked like he wanted to say something more, but the teacher entered the classroom and the conversation was cut short. After that, you were seated in different places, and during lessons, something always got in the way of talking again.

And then your birthday arrived. Unfortunately, it fell on a weekend. You had hoped to spend it with friends, but almost everyone turned out to be busy, and in the end, you were left home alone.

To lift your spirits even a little, you bought a small cake at the store. Returning home, you placed it on the table, lit a single candle, and sighed quietly. Celebrating a birthday in solitude was a bit sad.

You closed your eyes, made a wish, and blew out the candle.
And at that exact moment, the doorbell suddenly rang.

You thought that maybe your friends had decided to surprise you, and you quickly opened the door.
But standing on the threshold was Ben. He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, holding a small cake with a candle in his hands.

"Happy birthday..." he said softly. "I thought... maybe you were alone... and decided to congratulate you. I hope you don't mind..."