The Outcasts

Chapter 1

High school is a strange place. I'm sure you all know that. But my high school experience was especially strange. I wasn't a stand out character there, but I was liked well-enough. I had my circle of friends. There were very few people I'd tell everything too, and they were pretty much it. High school hierarchy is a concept that was very obviously in place, as well. I'd say that my friends and I were the level right below the top. I was a smart kid, and people knew that. They respected me I suppose, since I wasn't a nerd, per say, but I got good grades. Unlike most kids, I didn't look down on the "outcasts". We are all here to learn, forced to be here actually. That's all that matters.

Anyway, you're probably wondering about me as a person. Well, I'm a strange one. I'd describe myself as a well-mannered tomboy with slight anger issues, but with a nice-enough exterior. Take that however you want. My appearance is nice, I've been told, but can sometimes be a tad off-putting. But I'm a nice person, I like everyone unless you give me a reason not to. However, I can get upset at small things. I simply can not explain why. Sometimes I wonder how people put up with me.

Enough with that. I'm sure by now you are wondering why I decided to write about my life. What makes me so special? Nothing. Nothing different than most people. But high school changed me. I'm sure everyone has said that. But not how it changed me. I discovered myself, the real me, at some point along the way. How? I guess I should explain.

Senior year. It's the year that everything gets real. You realize that you're gonna need to apply to colleges or else you won't have a future. You're gonna need a job or else you won't be able to afford college and have a future. You're gonna need to keep you're grades up or else you won't get into college, have a future, or get a job. The stress of senior year is incomparable to anything else. It's a whole different kind of stress. But I wasn't stressing. I was accepted to Stanford University, had good grades, my parents saved for me to go to college, and I worked as a waitress at a nearby restaurant. I was set, more or less. I don't remember the exact day that my plans got thrown out the window, but I wasn't expecting it when they did. Let's rewind to right around the time that I think started the "downfall of my future" as my parents called it.

February of Senior Year

I drove to school and pulled into my usual parking spot. I looked at my phone and inwardly cursed at myself. It was 7:31. I was one minute late. I got out of my car and walked to the front doors. I walked to the front office, needing a pass to go to class.

"What can I help you with Jules?" Mrs. Parrish was the nice secretary. She, along with most teachers, knew me by name. Mainly because I was on the honor roll quarterly and was in multiple clubs.

I sighed, "I need a pass to go to gym class. I'm late." She lightly laughed.

"Oh sweety, don't look so sad. You've never been late before. It'll be fine." She scribbled on a slip of paper and handed it to me. I smiled at her and walked out of the office. Since I was already late, I decided to go into the bathroom before I headed to gym class. I slipped quietly through the door and stood in front of the mirror. I'd straightened my hair last night, so it was manageable. I'd chosen to wear my tightest and darkest blue skinny jeans and a gray tank top. Over that, I layered with an oversized blue plaid shirt. I had on my red high-top converse as well. I looked at my face. I'd barely had time to do my makeup or hair, though, since I'd woken up late. I'd put on mascara and stuck my hair up into a loose high bun. Put together with my nose ring and seven earrings, the look came together rather well. I didn't try to look like a mainstream-hipter-punk teenager, I just liked this. It seemed right and it fit me. I didn't go overboard with the piercings, if you're wondering about the seven earrings. I have two holes on both ear lobes, one in the cartilage halfway up both ears, and one at the top of my left ear. Not too many, in my opinion that is.

I took out concealer from my purse and put some under my eyes, covering the slightly visible dark circles there. Now happy with how I looked, I exited the bathroom and walked to the gym. As I opened the doors, I noticed everyone was already playing volleyball. I groaned, knowing I'd have to walk through the middle of the gym across to my teacher to give her my note. I sulked my way over to Mrs. Thompson and gave her a slight smile when she looked at me.

"I was wondering where you were Ms. Parker. It's not like you to be late." She seemed surprised, not angry at all though.

"I know. I'm sorry. Here's my pass." I took my late pass out of my pocket and handed it to her. "I stopped at the bathroom, so it's a few minutes old," I spoke up when she looked a bit confused. She then displayed an expression of understanding.

"Alright. Just go over and have a seat on the bench." The pointed over to the bottom of the wooden bleachers across from where we were currently standing. I nodded and walked my way over to the bench where two other kids were sitting. As I got closer, I noticed that Charlotte was one of them. She didn't bring clothes to change into for gym apparently. Charlotte had been one of my best friends since the second grade. I smiled happily at her and took in the latest color of her dyed hair. It was bleached at the roots and the rest was an ombré of bright pink to an equally bright orange. It fit her cheery, special, one-in-a-million personality.

"Jules, you're late!" I gave her a 'no duh' look. "I mean, why? Nevermind. It's not that important." She held up her hand as I was about to answer her.

"Fine," I said, "what's up?"

"Not much," she responded. Suddenly her face brightened. "Oh! There's this new junior. His name is Luther. Luther Simms I think. How cool does that sound? That's an awesome name. I haven't met him yet, or seen him even, but Di says he's pretty cute. Oh and he can play drums. Plus he's tall. Just your type I figure." She winked at me and laughed. I just gave her a stern look. "I'm kidding, but doesn't he sound kinda cool? I mean, he's a drummer. I wonder if he's a good singer too. Wouldn't that be cool? What other kid in this school is like that?" The surprise was clearly evident in her voice. But I had to admit, I was intrigued.

I relaxed my facial expression. "That's pretty cool actually, yeah. He sounds alright." I nodded, still in thought. At this point, I was trying to imagine what this Luther kid was like. What did he look like? Was he at all like me? Was he more of the jock-type? Would I get along with him? I was paying no attention to Charlotte.

"Right." I heard her voice, but wasn't listening to the words she was speaking. Her face displayed annoyance. "Brie is pregnant, Matt does drugs, and my dog died." I was not listening at all.

"Uh huh. Yeah," I responded subconsciously. I was looking at her, but not really hearing her. I'm a bad friend sometimes. She rolled her eyes before she spoke again.

"Jules!" When she yelled, several people, along with the young freshman sitting on the bench near us, turned to look at us. I snapped out of my daze.

"Gosh! Was that necessary?" I said, aggravated.

"Completely. Anyway, I was texting Di before you got her. She's in AP Calc with him right now. As a junior, he's in AP Calculus. That's impressive, he must be really smart. Apparently he seems pretty shy though. She said he's her new neighbor. She and her mom went to say hi to them when they moved in on Saturday. Apparently, he just lives with his dad. He has an older sister named Alex in college though. Di was helping him with his class schedule and saw that he has Drawing with us and Chemistry with you." She was basically telling me this kid's life story.

"Alright. So what you're saying is that he has Drawing with us next period and Chem with me after lunch?" I questioned her. That seemed to be the most important info I'd gathered from her speech. She nodded her head. "Ok, so we'll learn all the other useless crap about him then. And maybe, just maybe, some actual interesting stuff too. I kind of want to learn more about this whole drumming thing. That's pretty cool." Truth be told, I wanted to learn more than just his musical talent. But I didn't want to say that just yet.