This school year had been such a trying one. There was always so much pressure to do well because the next step was the last one before graduating academy! Wow. That is a lot of expectations and such to live up to. All the same, Malachi had managed to step up to the plate and give everything his all. Granted, he did manage to fail one class, but that wasn't the end of the world like he thought it was going to be. Hailey had been there to help get him through it. She always was.As he sat at his desk, the thought of Hailey made him get this seriously goofy smile. She brought out so many things in him that he never would have thought possible. True, when he was on his own, he was still a pretty shy guy, but he wasn't nearly as bad as he had been as a freshling! She helped him out with that. The fallen couldn't help thinking about everything they had been through together. Of course it came right back to the day he failed his Magical Creatures class. He swore that day was the worst of the worst and he'd never make it past it. Not only that, but he and Hailey had a really rough time when he said something and it had hurt her feelings terribly.
As those thoughts ran through his head, the poor guy still could never understand why she'd ever think she wasn't good enough or why she thought she had to worry about so many things. Then again, even if they were together and spent most of their time with each other, things in their lives were very different. He was adopted, while she felt like she'd never deserve to be loved by a parent because nobody did the same for her. The fact that she felt like she wasn't good enough just because of that always broke his heart. She was smart, beautiful, funny... the total package, minus the boobs. He couldn't help laughing when he thought about that and how mad she got when he teased her a bit for it. Though, maybe he shouldn't do that anymore. She had enough self esteem issues. He didn't need to be a jerk boyfriend and give her more of those.
Malachi continued to think about things. How he and Hailey differed from each other and how, just maybe, he could help her feel better about herself. "Maybe not letting her copy my school work would be a good idea...." he said to himself as he groaned. She was a smart cookie alright, but she was lazy, lazy, lazy when it came to their school work in classes. He always thought he was helping her by letting her copy his homework so she wouldn't fail, but maybe that was more damaging then anything. "She's smart, and really does good work when she wants to..." though he knew that was mostly in electives. "She won't like me very much, but maybe if I help her try to figure things out herself... Yes!" He didn't want to leave Hailey behind in school. He wanted them both to keep doing a great job and graduate together!, but she needed to start doing that on her own strength and brain power. "I know if I help her, she can do it." Yes! He now had a goal for next year! Help Hailey get through school on her own terms. It would be a challenge, but it was something he knew she needed.
