Cents and Kents

Centaurs and kentaurides aren't really that different. They talk differently and look a little different, but that's about the extent of it. Although, somehow when you get older you start to look at the other differently. Most of the time, you'll only see them differently a handful of times.
I don't get the benefit of knowing the feeling only a few times before I find the right guy. Since my name is Agápe, or Αγάπη, the Greek word for love, every centaur I look at in the eyes will be my next crush. I try not to, but just an accidental glance is enough to trigger it. It's a pretty big issue for me since I have no interest in having a centfriend. All other kents fall head over horseshoes with one cent who pays little to no attention to them. I'm not sure which is worse, probably their's. I can get over mine without being hurt by it.
It reminds me of Medusa. I prefer my situation since the only person it affects is me. Plus, if I were Medusa I'd have to mostly be human, I couldn't imagine having only two legs. How does that even work? It doesn't help me with schoolwork, my only passion that I don't feel like is fake. Everyone, including myself, thinks I'm weird because my favorite subject is math. The same subject that frustrates everyone else and can lead to apathy of school is the one that makes sense to me. The twinge of excitement I feel when I answer the problems correctly hadn't gone away ever since 6th grade. I'm in 9th now. I usually speed through my normal math lessons, so I often do more with my own text book after school.
However, when you have a crush it occupies your mind. When you try to focus, a single thought of, well, whoever it is next, will just lead you away from what you were doing. Somehow, I still get decent grades, amazing grades according to my friends. Anything that isn't straight A's is failure in my mind. Lately, I've been spacing out during biology, leading to a disgraceful C+ in my report card. I've been trying harder though, but the constant crushes aren't helping.
"Hey, Agápe!"
"Hi, Dia." I replied. Her first name was actually Diaskédasay (Διασκέδαση), the Greek word for fun. Her parents are very carefree and didn't want to risk having a boring child.
"Where's Fili?" I asked. Full name Filiká, or Φιλικά, meaning friendly. She was a pretty awesome person to be friends with, unsurprisingly.
"I'm not sure, probably with a new student or something. I have no idea how she keeps track of all her friends." Fili was literally friends with everyone in the school but she usually hands out with us. I spotted a cent talking with his friends in front of the school. I couldn't look away, my heart decided its next victim. Don't look at me, don't look at me. After a few seconds he felt my eyes on him and met them. Great. I blushed and looked away feeling the very familiar swelling in my heart.
"Ding." Dia said. Every day when I found a new crush Dia almost always knew and would accompany it with a "ding."
"I hate my name." I said, as I usually do.
"Hey guys! I met a new student! This is Éxypnos, but he prefers Éxy." Fili said as she ran up to us. I already got my crush for today, oh his eyes looked amazing, so I was able to meet his glance.
"Welcome, I'm Dia."
"I'm Agápe."
"Agápe as in love, I'm sure that gives you plenty of crushes every now and then." Éxy said.
"Try every day."
"Any chance I'm one?"
"Sorry, I already got today's try again tomorrow." We both chuckled.
"So where were you before Taurs High?" Dia asked.
"I've been homeschooled for the past few years."
"Oh I would love to be homeschooled, I'd be able to learn at such a faster rate. Plus I wouldn't have to deal with - “I got interrupted by a football flying over my head thrown by two cents, "that. Why on earth would you stop?" I asked.
"Both my parents are working so there isn't really anyone to teach me."
"Well we're really glad you're here." Dia said with a smile.
"We'd better get to class." Fili said.
"Ooh, math is next!" I said.
"Math is the best! I didn't know anyone else enjoyed it." Éxy said.
"It's my all-time favorite subject. I even have an extra textbook for it to do outside of school."
"I should get one. I think I like it because it's less memorization and more problem solving"
"Exactly! No one else seems to get it."
During Algebra the teacher would ask if the class knew the answer to a problem and Éxy and I took turns answering them. I noticed Dia glaring at me.
"Stop." she mouthed. I'm confused. I always answer the questions asked, she isn't usually jealous of me. The bell rang and as everyone left she walked right by me.

❤❤❤

I was sitting under a tree doing more Algebra when I noticed Éxy and Dia walking together a few yards away. I started to close my book when her eyes met mine, but she just gave me a triumphant look and kept trotting the other direction. Éxy didn't seem to see me. Was that what this was about? I didn't have feelings for Éxy, everyone else, but not Éxy. Friendship was more powerful than love to me, and I didn't want to have my relationship with Éxy to be cut short by us getting together then breaking up shortly after.
"Hi, Agápe!" Fili said while she proceeded to sit down next to me.
"Hey." I replied.
"So what's up?"
"I think Dia thinks I have feelings for Éxy. She keeps walking by me giving me these looks when she's with him."
"Well don't you?"
"What? Have feelings for Éxy? No, you know that I already got my crush for today.
"I don't mean because of your name. I mean, like, real feelings. Not just a curse."
"No. I don't see why a cent and kent can't just have things in common and be friends without having to get married."
"Okay, sorry. You just had that look in your eyes that we all know means you have a crush."
"I didn't realize I had my crush look near him. I guess I'd better explain to Dia."
I left Fili and tried to find Dia but I didn't see her anywhere. I finally heard her when I walked toward the front of building, I was next to the east wall. Just as I was about to talk to her, I heard my name in her conversation.
"You know, Agápe doesn't even like math. She just heard from Fími, not to be confused with Fili, that your favorite subject was math. She's always whining about having to do Algebra."
I couldn't believe she was saying these things about me. Did our years of friends just not matter when it came to cents?
"Dia!" I'm not going to let her just tell him lies.
"Agápe." she said with little emotion.
"I can't believe you would tell Éxy those lies about me! Why would you let a cent ruin our years of friendship?"
"I saw the way you looked at him. I knew you already got your crush for today so if you did have a crush on him it had to be real. I finally found a cent I like and then you just have to have all this stuff in common. You just have to be perfect for each other!
"I don't have feelings for Éxy! You could've asked me if I did, or at least tell me YOU did!"
"I didn't have to ask, I knew. I always know. Stop trying to blame this on me!"
"Well you were wrong this time and you ARE to blame! How was I supposed to magically know you liked him?"
"I dropped plenty of hints! I smiled at him when I said we were glad he was here, I mouthed at you to stop answering questions with him, so if I noticed the look in your eyes then you could at least notice I was telling you to back off!"
"You know what? If we can't even talk to each other, then we just shouldn't be friends. Have fun with your centfriend!"
I stormed away, infuriated at how she couldn't even ask me if I liked him before trying to make him hate me. Just then, I remembered that Éxy was a taur. He was caught in the middle of us fighting and I didn't even consider that he would feel uncomfortable. On his first day too! I saw him walking by so I ran over to him.
"Éxy! I'm so sorry you had to be in the middle of that! I swear I don't feel anything toward you romantically."
He looked disappointed for a moment but quickly smiled.
"No problem. I didn't really stay for most of the fight, it felt too weird."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that on your first day."
"It's fine, really. And I don't really know much about fights, but it just seemed like it was a misunderstanding. I think you two should work it out." he gave me one last look and left.
I went home not knowing what to feel. So much had happened today that my emotions got mixed up. I started thinking about today's crush, they always popped in my head. Just when I was thinking about him, I suddenly started think of Éxy. That was weird, I never think of two boys at once. To be fair, I normally avoid talking to boys so talking to Éxy must have triggered it.
I thought about what Éxy said about me and Dia working it out. I suppose there's a way to settle it without me having to apologize. I won't apologize if I didn't do anything wrong.