The outlier

Chapter 2-Lucas

I couldn't help but chuckle.

Party tonight at Skye's. I have invited the WHOLE crew to celebrate Lulu not flunking her science test. You better be there!

That was the text I sent to Dylan. I squinted at the luminescent phone screen in my hands, awaiting a response. I knew very well it could take a while.

Dylan was a study fanatic. I was always on her case about this. Being the "fun" friend in our group I was always encouraging her to rebel, to not take everything too seriously.

But Dylan was Dylan, and she would not dare to do anything that might result in a slight consequence. She prided herself on being a good role model, one who would receive perfect scores in school.

This is why I laughed when typing out that text. Trying to pry Dylan away from the pages in her text book was hard enough on a Friday night. Today was Tuesday, and I knew very well she had planned to study for her upcoming maths test. She had been whining about this test for ages, constantly talking about how necessary it was to bump up her overall grade. I definitely did not understand her reasoning behind this as her overall grade was a B+, a grade that Lulu and I, the underachievers of the group, would cry with happiness if we received.

That is why I organised this party. Lulu had passed her science test. Everyone has a subject they either hate or struggle to comprehend. Science was the one for Lulu and I could not help but feel enormously proud of her for facing her biggest challenge and absolutely smashing it.

I flung myself forwards and collapsed onto my bed. My blue quilt cover smelt bad. It was the unmistakeable stench of body odour. I knew it was time to wash it, heck I don't even remember the last time I washed it, but for some reason laziness grabbed a hold of me and I decided I would do it tomorrow knowing very well it would not be done tomorrow.

Over the years my room had become less colourful, just like my personality. My room had once been magical. It used to be anything I wanted it to be. It was filled head to toe with toys. I used to have a shelf that was dedicated to being filled with stuffed animals, each with a unique and bizarre name just as the one next to it.

There used to be colours everywhere, a lime green armchair, pastel yellow curtains and a brooding red rug. Thinking back to it most of the colours in my room would have clashed, but back then I loved seeing a rainbow every time I opened my bedroom door.

Then I lost my imagination. And my room started to lose its colours. The red rug was the first to go. Now the only colours I can see surrounding me are light blue, grey and white. All my old toys are gone and most of my furniture was auctioned off.

I guess I started growing up when my parents became divorced when I was 10. The situation was exhausting and heartbreaking. I still feel drained to this very day.

I rolled up my sleeve and sniffed my underarm. The smell burnt my eyes. As much as I wanted to stay on my bed, I knew I had to shower.

I have a party to go to.