The Anonymous Ones

Prologue

Nini Salazar-Roberts knew feeling lost in one's teenage years wasn't rare. She tried to remind herself this, and yet it still confused her. She felt so lost. Alone.

She wasn't even alone, though. She was best friends with Kourtney Greene and Ricky Bowen. She got along with her classmates, even if they weren't friends.

The dread of the future and what she was meant to do with her life still hung in the air. It was like whatever she did, it wasn't right. She tried again each time, but after awhile it felt so confusing and isolating.

She rarely shared these feelings, though she mentioned parts of it to Kourtney and sometimes even Ricky. Her biggest confidants were her moms. They had found themselves, despite their awkward teenage years. Nini could do it too.

She was glad her moms were supportive, too. They helped her try and find what she wanted. And no matter how many times she screwed up, they'd always be there.

She could be open with them. And although Nini didn't know exactly who she was, her moms would always help, and they always seemed to know who she was. Even more than she did.

Her moms were an easy candidate for who to come out to first when Nini realized she was pansexual. It was still challenging to admit, but she felt relieved after she did. She was now out to Kourtney and Ricky too.

And she was happy, but sometimes life was just a lot.

-

Ricky Bowen had a long past of dating girls who were bad for him. Sometimes they were bad, and sometimes he just wasn't ready for a relationship. His parents' divorce had taken a huge toll on him and his relationships.

He knew he had to work on himself before a relationship, but he often had crushes. And it did make him even more confused that some of his crushes were on guys.

But they couldn't be crushes, right? He was straight. He probably just wanted to be friends with them. Right?

He spent some weekends seeing him mom and step-father in Chicago. He didn't care for seeing his step-father, but he did miss his mom. He loved living with his dad, though.

His dad was supportive, even if their house was always a mess and neither of them could stop the chaos ensuing. It was nice to have someone there.

He also had Nini and Kourtney. They didn't know his one other friend, Big Red, for they had never had classes together and they had never found the time to meet up. They never really tried too hard, though.

Ricky had a lot going on.

-

Gina Porter was always on the move. Her mom's job required her to move often. She could barely remember her father. She hadn't seen her brother in years. And while she was close with her mom, that was about the only person she could share much with. Sometimes she made friends, but she moved, and they never bothered to text her after.

She arrived in Salt Lake City. She would be attending East High, which she found cool, but her hopes weren't high for friends. She'd make it through the year. She probably wouldn't even stay in the city longer than that.

Friends would be nice, yes. A girlfriend would be nice, yes. But she just had to make it through the year. Nothing had to be perfect.

-

EJ Caswell was well known at East High. He had plenty of friends, was popular, and seemed to be living the life. And in a sense, he was. He was extremely privileged. But that doesn't take away human struggles.

His mom had left his family when he was five years old. His dad put overwhelming amounts of pressure on him. He did have lots of friends, but he wasn't very close with them, and the majority were privileged, homophobic, and filled with toxic masculinity.

And EJ had realized he was bisexual.

He hadn't told anyone but his cousin. Ashlyn was his one true friend, who was always there. She understood the pressure on him, especially because she knew his dad. He could always go to her, and he was grateful.

-

Big Red's family consisted of a few siblings. Two were in college, which was hard as far as money was concerned. One was fourteen years old, Winnie, and the other was nineteen but not yet attending college.

He loved them all, and he loved his parents, but it could be a lot. So many people caused fighting, not to mention how tight money was. Big Red was constantly working at Salt Lake Slices for the sake of the family.

But, overall, he loved his life. He was friends with Ricky, and he got along well with his coworker Howie, even if they weren't the closest. The thought of having a girlfriend or boyfriend rarely crossed his mind.

-

Ashlyn Caswell wasn't popular, but anyone who knew of her was aware she was in almost every extracurricular activity at East High. Most of them she loved, but some her parents wanted her to join.

Her mom had to be gone from home fairly often for work. She didn't mind, because they got along great. On the other hand, her dad was barely ever home and had impossibly high standards for his fifteen year old daughter. It hurt sometimes.

Another reason she was in so many extracurriculars was so she didn't have to feel so alone. She had EJ, but he was her only close friend. She got alone fine with most of her classmates, but she longed for real friends. And while she didn't need one, a partner wouldn't hurt. She got crushes easily.

Her lack of friends didn't help her general insecurities. She was proud of herself, but she knew she wasn't exactly up to the beauty standard put out by the public. She knew the standard was stupid, but it still made her feel... weird.

-

Carlos Rodriguez often felt alone. He was an only child, and his parents weren't always home. Despite occasional efforts, he had no friends. Theatre was his escape, but he was still rarely friends or even got along with anyone there.

He liked putting himself out there, but on occasion it got him made fun of. Due to race and sexuality, he was part of a minority, and sometimes it was isolating.

But he still tried to keep his hopes up as much as possible.

-

Sebastian Matthew-Smith, more commonly referred to as Seb, also lacked friends. And it hurt, because he was extremely friendly and spent lots of time trying to meet friends. Everyone just seemed to ignore him.

He also had tons of siblings, who he did get along with, but with all the people and all the time he had to spend on the farm, it was overwhelming. He often had to work there.

He was incredibly grateful for his family, though. They were always supportive of everything he did, even if he did have to work on the farm a bit more than he liked. But he also loved the farm, it was extremely calming. And they had always been supportive of his sexuality.

So despite everything, he felt loved.

-

Kourtney Greene was generally happy. She was close with Nini and Ricky, her longtime best friends. But she still felt under-appreciated. And she was put into so many boxes based of looks, or even interests.

And it hurt.

~

Howie Banks was stuck in a school full of people he hated. He'd give them the benefit of the doubt, they couldn't all be bad, but the people in his classes, such as theatre, were really just big snobs. Take Lily Keegan for example, who would stop at nothing to win.

And he felt pressure from stereotypes. He built his walls up. He wanted them to be down— but he built them up.