The Outcasts

Chapter 2

Charlotte and I were sitting in our usual seats for drawing when an unfamiliar kid walked into the room. He was wearing a black button down that was rolled up to his elbows and unbuttoned, revealing a dark red and black striped shirt. He wore black skinny jeans and rough-looking black converse. He looked around the room, probably for the teacher, so I wasn't able to see his face. He saw Mrs. Sotroe and walked over to her desk. Mrs. Sotroe stood up and smiled at the boy. They started talking, but I couldn't hear any of it. Just then, Di walked over to Charlotte and I's table and sat down across from us.

"That's him," she whisper yelled. "He would barely talk to me, but he's so cute. I mean, oh my goodnes." She playfully fanned herself. I whacked her arm down.

"Di, stop," I insisted. "So how was the calc test?" I asked, to get her attention focused on something else. She started talking on and on about how difficult the test was and what sort of problems were on it and how she thinks she failed. Even Charlotte took part in the conversation. But I wasn't paying attention. As Mrs. Sotroe got done talking to Luther, she pointed to a seat at a table with two freshman that no one really talked to. He walked over to the table and put his stuff down. Mrs. Sotroe walked to the front of the class to give us our assignment for the week.

"So," she started, "I was watching this show on the science channel yesterday and it was about how the brain interprets your surroundings, how they make you feel, you know? Anyway, I got to thinking. I figured that would be a cool basis for a project. I twisted that idea up a little though. This week, I want you guys to either paint or draw a picture of an environment that makes you feel at peace, calm, satisfied, happy, or even sad, angry, scared, or anxious. Whatever you want. Something that may be insignificant to other people. Show us something about yourself through this picture. You don't have to explain it, if it's too personal, but be creative. Alright?" We all nodded our heads, all eleven of us in this class, and she walked back to her desk. This is why I like Mrs. Sotroe. She was young, about thirty, and creative. She gave us assignments that were interesting. She also talked to us like we were friends, not just kids that she had to teach.

Once she sat back down, I got up and walked over to Luther's table. I sat across from him and started talking. "Hey," I smiled warmly, "I'm Jules. You're Luther I'm guessing?"

He looked up at me a bit confused. "Yeah. Why?" I looked at his face and was silent in utter shock for a moment. He had light caramel brown hair and warm dark brown eyes. His face, much like his body, was skinny, but in an attractive way that was also angular and chiseled. He did not look like he was only a sophomore. But at the same time, he has this softness to his face that made him look like a kind person. His hair was not long, but it covered his forehead and was thick and wavy. It reminded me of the drummer from a certain punk-rock band that I loved, how ironic. It drew me to him even more.

"No reason. I just noticed that you're new here. My friend Di mentioned you. She said that you just moved in next to her." I wasn't quite sure what to say to him, I knew nothing much about him. But I was going to try.

"Yeah. On Saturday," he answered rather curtly. Ok then.

"Where'd you move from?" I asked, trying to seem kind and genuinely interested. He sighed, possibly in annoyance, before he answered me.

"Pheonix. My parents got divorced, so I moved in with my dad who just so happens to live here." That was more information than I had expected to receive.

"My parents got divorced three years ago. I live with my dad too. My mom lives about half an hour away, not in a different state. That must suck," I said, finding some sort of a common ground with him.

"I mean, I guess," he started to reply, "but I like my dad better anyway so it's not that big a deal."

"But moving takes a lot of adjusting though. I know how hard it can be."