The Adventures of a Scrawny Musician and a Compulsive Liar

1. Caffeine and A Lie

Thanks Perlie for dealing with my "GIMME A NAME/HAPPY ICONIC IMAGE/PERSON WHO FLIPS HAIR/NO-NAME STATE!" commands, however annoying they may be.

Laurence --> (YouTube video) Quite adorable, yes?

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The first day of school is such a beautiful tradition. On one hand, you have the first category of people, which make up the majority, hop out of their cars and dive headfirst into their pre-destined-from-junior-high groups of friends with squeals of excitement, selective forms of PDA, and the sort. Yet simultaneously, the second category cluster together in protective groups that scream "US VS. THE WORLD" as they share the highlights of their festivities and whatever shenanigans they accomplished during the summer months in I-can't-believe-we're-dumped-back-into-this-shithole-for-yet-another-year nostalgic tones. I, however, fall into the third category: being dragged by a short kid with gravity-defying hair on one side, and a nearly seven-foot tall kid genius with black-framed glasses on the other side.

"Could you make the ordeal of dragging your half-conscious ass across the campus any harder?" Evan, the kid genius, grunted.

"I am this close to just slinging you over my shoulder and piggybacking you the rest of the way," Nathaniel, gravity-defying hair kid, threatened.

"Caffeine," I mumble, prying my eyelids long enough to see that we've reached the "L" wing at long last. Evan and Nathaniel unceremoniously and without hesitation, dump me on the ground where I collapse into fetal position. Maybe if I lie down long enough, the concrete will dissolve and the layers of the earth beneath me will swallow me whole so I can finally be in enough peace to sleep.

"What the hell happened to him?" I hear a feminine voice inquire; it must be Isobel. I moan in response.

"Poor Laurie here's having caffeine withdrawal," Nathaniel replies properly.

"You mean you didn't give him his daily can of Coke?"

"Yep."

Moaning, I clasp my hands over my ears and rock back and forth on the ground to further prove my point.

"Well, I'm not going to-ugh, here." The popping sound of a can being opened reaches my ears, and in the blink of an eye, I sit up.

"It's not Coke, but it'll have to-," The rest of her sentence is unheard over my frantic gulps of soda. Sweet, sweet carbonated, caffeinated, sugary soda goodness. Bitter, scalding black coffee just does not compare. Testing out my limbs, I slowly use my hands to push my body off of the cold, hard floor into a standing position. In front of me stand Evan, Nathaniel, and a short girl with a head of wine-red hair wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt intently staring at me along with the others.

"Dude... you look like hell."

Turning my head, I nod stiffly at Isobel. I've known her for two years, yet haven't completely gotten used to the fact of having a human of the female variety in my tiny social circle of friends.

"How are you today, Isobel?" I ask without stuttering. Score for me.

"I am quite fine, Laurence. Thank you for inquiring about my health... unlike some self-righteous bastards." Isobel death-glared Evan. He gave a nervous grin and quickly pecked her on the cheek. As sudden as my awakening, a smile so angelic that Botticelli's angels would weep appeared on Isobel's face. "Aww, you're so sweet, honeybunch."

"As much as I enjoy having my cuteness factor overflow and my gag reflex tested, I am afraid I must delay this wondrous encounter until later notice as for now," Nathaniel paused for dramatic effect. "I must head toward my English class." With a hair flip that'd anger Will Smith's daughter with its magnificence, he spins on his heel and walks away from us. Sometimes, his actions make me question his sexuality. After a few moments of awkward silence, Evan and Isobel decide to leave to their first period classes too, which leaves me alone in the middle of a deserted hallway standing gawkily in all my lonesome. Sigh.