Emotional

two

age 14

"Can you believe it, Jacky?! Freshman year already!"

Jack's eyes were trained on the ground in front of him. "Yeah, I know."

"It's just so exciting!" Ben could hardly stand still, barely restraining himself from hopping from foot to foot.

Jack rolled his eyes at Ben. "You smile a lot, you know."

Ben looked over at his friend. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," Jack stated a matter-of-factly, "Just weird."

Ben grinned.

The boys continued onward towards the high school; one with a blank expression, and one acting as if he had been given the entire world.

When they entered their first class, science, which they had together, the teacher looked at them strangely. Neither boy knew why, not realizing the teacher was staring blatantly at their hands, which had wound together. They often walked hand in hand, each giving each other stability.

Later in the day, at lunch, the boys sat by themselves, the rest of the students giving them a wide berth. To them, the boys had acted strangely all day. One had repeated outbursts that resulted in notebooks being thrown or desks being tipped over, and the other never reacted to anything. When teachers would call on him, he would use cold, clipped answers, green eyes dull and bored looking.

The behavior continued through the entire school year, and eventually, the school counselor got ahold of them.

The duo made their way cautiously through the doorway. Jack blinked, taking in the decorated room. The walls were litered with drawings, presumably from students. Two brightly colored beanie bag chairs sat across from a desk that overflowed with paperwork. And at that desk, sitting welcomingly, was the counselor. Mr. Larsson, if Jack remembered correctly.

"Hello, boys," The teacher said, "Please, have a seat."

They did. Ben practically dove headfirst into the purple bean bag chair, and Jack sat stiffly on the green one.

Mr. Larsson talked to them a good long time about feelings and rumours and such, much to Jack's displeasure. From what he could gather from the counselor's questions, he assumed people were talking about him and Ben. Saying that they were psychos or insane, and what not. They weren't, though. They simply didn't communicate well with others.

Mr. Larsson ended up letting them go without finding out much. To his understanding, the boys were just emotionally different than the rest of the student body. They were probably ostrizised by their peers. The man was relieved that the boys seemed to have each other's back, though.

For the rest of their high school careers, they were no longer questioned.