A Typical Morning with Alex

Alex took a deep breath as they stepped off the bus. They glared at everyone outside the school, rushing to the doors while clutching their clarinet case tightly. That's when the acting began. A wave to the populars. A smile to the semi-pops. Friendly elbowing for the theatre kids. Double peace signs to some band kids, which required a slight maneuver of the clarinet case that Alex had gotten used to. Then came the bustling through the crowd. It doesn't help to stay calm when your mind is constantly shouting "yikes!" after doing literally anything in these situations. More glaring and elbowing, this time much less polite, ensued. It was accompanied with a dainty, quiet "excuse me" each time, though. Alex was finally freed from the sea of immaturity and stirring hormones, at the edge of which were a bunch of circular tables. They began to walk even faster, breezing by the small groups of "outcasts" at each table without even a second glance. Some of these people were Alex's friends too, but it wasn't really their place. Especially if they didn't want to be on the bad side of all the kids who more directly affected their life. They sighed with relief, though more often it was a long, drawn-out wail of bundled up emotion, when they reached the table their group was at. A colorful and usually chaotic group of kids were there to welcome Alex. They usually had to tap people on the shoulder to get them to notice Alex was there, though. But metaphorically, yes, they always welcomed Alex, in a way that was different than any of Alex's other "friends". There was Emma (she was such a kind person), Nicole (fave who deserved better), Isaac (problematic fave), Skyler (loud but great to joke around with), Penelope (mysterious but fun), and Sam (who even knows why he stuck around with them all but he was alright once you got past the homophobia and guns). The bell rang right then and Alex actually screamed because apparently there was a test in first period. Fuckign thanks Nicole.