We haven't seen each other for a year and then he texts me?

Last year in ninth grade, I had a classmate. Let's call him Teddy. And we were friends and English partners, but we weren't close or anything. He's a really sweet guy. I go to a different school this year though, so we haven't seen each other for a year. And one of our mutual friends (Let's call her Aly) sent a iPhone group message with her new number, but I got confused and texted Teddy asking if it was Aly's new number. Teddy texted back saying no it was not Aly it was Teddy. And he asked who I was and I told him. And then we had a nice long convo about random stuff. And then a couple weeks pass by, and I really don't expect him to text me, because we were never that close and it's not like we see each other anyway. But today he texts me saying "hey <my name> :-) ". Which was a pleasant surprise. But why would he randomly text me and start a convo? He is just being friendly right? I just find it strange, because most of the guys i know don't usually start texing conversations. And me and him aren't even close.

He was probably thinking about you! If he's sweet you should text him more often and then go from there, he could be your future boyfriend! Haha but don't forget to take it slow aswell! Nothing freeks a guy out more than when a girl is very 'fast' in a relationship.

I think you already answered the question yourself. Yes, it seems that he's just being friendly, so enjoy it! Maybe you guys will become friends. If you feel really weird about the whole situation, just tell him. (it's not like it would hurt his feelings, as you said: you aren't even that close)

You're probably just over-thinking this