Chapter Text
God, it started like any morning. It just started with a horrible nightmare.
I was writing some song lyrics while sitting under a bus that was leaning against the wall for some reason, and I heard some people discussing me, but that's unimportant. Well, the bus fell over and crushed me while all I could do was scream, then everything went black, I couldn't move, think, speak, or feel, but I could hear people gossiping about my death, while I fought to wake up.
I woke up gasping loudly, and I fell out of bed, which sucked because I was on the top bunk.
”Oww… my head…”
"Hey, you okay?"
I looked up to see my twin brother Luke.
”uhh… y-yeah.. I’m fine…”
"Good. Well, it looks like it's 7 AM already." he said.
"I wish it wasn't..." I said. “I’m just scared, Luke… what if they still don’t like me?”
"Shh, shh, it's alright, even if those jerks still treat you like trash, you still have me." Luke said.
"Thanks." I said, still feeling like trash.
Just then, the door opened, and I saw my mom standing there.
”Hi, mom.” I said.
”Hi, sweeties!” she said.
I stood up with support from the ladder, seeing I'd hit my elbow so hard the skin broke.
Great...just great...What a perfect way to start my morning.
Luke seemed to notice my elbow.
"Do you need a band-aid?" Luke asked.
"Probably." I said.
”Alright, I’ll be right back.” he said.
I sat there while I waited for Luke to get back, then he applied it to me without asking if I needed help.
”Thanks, man.” I said.
“No problem, bro.” he said happily.
I noticed my elbow was starting to sting, unfortunately.
"Well, I got you two some breakfast, so hurry before it gets cold!" my mom said.
I trudged to the kitchen, feeling absolutely horrible. I didn't even want to go outside, let alone to school. I grabbed my breakfast anyways, eating as slowly as possible in hopes of missing the bus. Despite my best efforts, it was gone before the bus arrived and I was forced to get dressed. I grabbed my backpack, feeling like I could vomit, and even contemplating actually making myself vomit, just to have one more day away from them. However, mercy seemed to hate me.
"C'mon, we're about to be late!"
"C-coming!"
I ran to avoid missing the bus, if only because Luke didn't want me to. Soon, I was stuck on the bus headed straight to the place where I knew I'd be bullied relentlessly. The bus was filled with kids, which was like my own personal hell. I hated every moment of this, and I just wanted to go home and go back to sleep. I decided to listen to My Little Pony music to make myself feel better. It worked on the bus, but when we arrived at school, I had to put my phone away and go inside. I walked through the halls and suffered through first period silently.
Eventually, I made it through my class, and I started heading to my next period. Unfortunately, life seemed to hate me, as I was elbowed in the chest and shoved to the ground. Even though I felt like breaking down, I just stood up and went to the cafeteria. Instead of focusing on eating, however, I fed the virtual cat on my phone. I was sitting alone, when a boy came up to me. He looked pretty cool, which told me to be defensive. All the cool kids seemed to hate me. However, I saw no malice in his eyes, only kindness.
"Hey, you ok? You look lonely…” the boy asked.
”I-I… uhh…”
Was he actually talking to me…?
"What's your name?" he asked.
”I-I’m… uhh…”
Dammit, why am I like this?
"Well, I'm Garnold." he said.
I made the choice not to open my mouth again. I didn't want to embarrass myself, so I just nodded.
”Do you wanna be friends?” he asked.
”W-WHAT?!” I yelled in surprise.
"Sorry, I'll go." he said.
”W-wait! I-I didn’t mean it like that!” I said.
He stopped and looked back at me.
"I-I’m C-Clukr." I managed.
”Wow! That’s a really cool name!” Garnold said.
"Th-thanks." I said.
"So, do you want me to leave or stay?" he asked.
”C-can you stay…? P-please?” I asked nervously.
"Of course!" Garnold said, smiling widely.
I moved a bit to give him room to sit.
”B-but um… yeah… I-I do wanna be your friend.” I said, smiling a little.
"Yippie!" Garnold said.
I decided to let myself breathe for once. Suddenly, Garnold hugged me. I froze, shocked, but I hugged him back. He smiled widely at me, and he seemed excited that I was willing to be his friend in the first place.
Is this what it feels like to get adopted by an extrovert? I wondered.
”Oh my god, I’m so happy I have a new friend! Come on! You should meet Oren, Raddy, and Simon! They will love you!” Garnold said, excitedly.
"Who?"
"Follow me! They're right over here!"
I was about to follow Garnold, but one of my books fell out of my backpack.
”Crap…” I said.
”Oh! Let me pick that up for you!” Garnold said.
That was the engineering book my parents got me last Christmas…
”Wait, don’t touch… that…”
But it was too late, Garnold already picked it up. I was fully expecting Garnold to immediately drop me as a friend, but he looked excited to see the book.
"You like engineering, too?" he asked excitedly.
"Y-yeah." I said.
"Yippie!"
"Huh?"
“I always wanted to be an engineer when I grow up!” he said happily.
I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
"Same here." I said.
Garnold squeezed me in excitement.
"Now, come on, I wanna introduce you to them!" Garnold said.
”O-ok…” I said, getting nervous again about meeting new people.
I saw an angry-looking boy with two boys who were playing some video games. I hoped they weren't the boys Garnold wanted to introduce me to (cuz I’m nervous as hell and they looked scary), but Garnold stopped walking.
"Hey, guys, I found us a new friend!" Garnold said.
"Of course you did." the angry boy said.
"Look at him!" Garnold said, pointing at me.
"H-hi." I stuttered.
”Hi! I’m Simon!” the first boy said.
”Sup, I’m Oren.” the next boy said
“And I’m Raddy.” the angry boy said.
I just stood there, the words catching in my throat.
"And this is Clukr." Garnold said.
"H-hi." I said again.
”He’s a little shy, but he’s very nice!” he said.
"Alright, G, I believe you." Oren said.
I sat down and took a bite of the $2 cafeteria cookie. Just then, I noticed Luke look at me.
”Ah, there you are!” Luke said, walking over to us.
"Who's this?" Garnold asked.
"M-my twin brother." I said.
"Who are these?" Luke asked.
"N-new friends." I said.
"My little brother finally has friends! Yippie!" Luke said.
"I'm not that much younger..." I said.
”Anyways, I’m Luke.” he said.
"Nice, I'm Garnold, and these are Raddy, Oren, and Simon." Garnold said.
I finished my cookie and tried not to gag at the pizza Luke had lovingly nicknamed 'Morgue Pizza'.
We were laughing and talking and having fun, and I realized that I finally made some real friends. Something I never thought would happen. I felt lighthearted all day, even though the socialization drained me.
When I got home, I curled up on the couch, and without even dropping my backpack, I fell asleep, still thinking about my new friends, but especially Garnold.