The Freshmen

Freshman Year I

The story begins in the year of 2003, Sam and Dan's first year in high school and the year in which the whole human race believes to be the beginning to the best years of our lives. In hindsight, Sam would believe that to be true. In a fifteen year olds mind though, the inception of high school seemed awful. He was never a nervous kid at all, always the rambunctious one of his group of friends. The edge he had and his carefree persona washed away like water erodes sand from the beach. He was a hot mess as he walked through the broad, white doors of the high school of his adolescence. Sure, he had friends waiting for him inside the building. Mazzi and Louis were probably all settled in and watching the door so the trio could go to their freshman classes in unison. Sam still couldn't get rid of the qualm burning inside his chest as he preceded though the doors. Inhale, then exhale. The first action he ever took in the first of the four years. Just inhale, and exhale. He looked around frantically for his childhood friends so they can began this ‘high school thing.’ His eyes fell upon long dreads and a blonde Afro, he smiled instantaneously. He ran up to them and gave them a nice hug, happy to know he wasn't alone in this journey. They hurried to get out their schedules to see if they had homeroom together, and frowned when they saw the result. Sam had literature, Mazzi had history, and Louis had algebra one. Well, this completely and utterly sucked. Thankfully, they had other periods with each other, but they still wanted the first period of high school to be an experience for all three of them.

"We're going to be alright, guys. This year is going to be awesome. We will get through high school with ease." With ease. The words of Louis will echo in Sam's head for the rest of his existence. The trio, reluctantly of course, had to part and go to their first classes. Sam held his head high, courage finally kicking in, as he waltzed his way to literature. He had never been a fan of the genre. Writing and reading really weren't his poison. He could never fully pay attention to a novel, nor did he have the capacity to write. He'd rather take pictures with his Polaroid. Sam was more into visuals, seeing things in there most animate form. With books and inked words you have to picture it yourself. Where was the fun in that? With photos, you can do so much more. There were stories behind a single photo, stories that will be frozen in time because of a click of a camera. A picture held a thousand words, right? Why some took months or even years trying to capture a life with ink to paper photos took a millisecond of a millisecond to produce. Sam Pepper lived and breathed photography, and ultimately his eyes were shut and ignorant towards other forms of expression.

The classroom was practically full by the time Sam got to it. He opened the wooden door and entered, dozens of pairs of eyes that ranged in hues were all on him. Thankfully he wasn't the new kid on the block or he would have shit his pants. He knew every single being in that room since they were in diapers. That was a perk of living in a small town. There was Jack Howard in the front, his brothers' varsity jacket worn proudly on his skin. They all knew Jack would follow into his footsteps and join the football team. His best friend Dean Dobbs was seated next to him, of course, with his long fringe and Panic! At The Disco tee. He was a sensitive boy with a creative mind, a little shy and spoke a little funny. They were polar opposites but their similar sense of humor kept their bond stable and lengthy. Some even questioned the two's sexuality and the friendship they thought to go further. There was Zoella in the front as well, her make done classy and well, not slutty. She had always been courteous, a genuine sweetheart to go along with her outer looks. Everyone loved her. Sam had a crush on her all through middle school, which wasn't uncommon considering the whole school's population had one too. Pj Liguori sat in the back, doodling the characters swarming around his head. The Italian with big, bright green eyes had always been somewhat of a charmer but would never be one to admit it. He even had the favorable Zoella under his arm at one point, earning respect from many of the popular kids such as Jack Harries and Marcus Butler, whom were also placed in Sam's homeroom.