No Ordinary Nerd

Chapter 2

Upon waking up, Clay felt excited. It wasn't the fact that school was starting back after a long summer, but it was the fact that he would get to see his friends for the first time since school let out for summer. With this in mind, Clay quickly got out of bed, picked out some clean clothes and headed down the hall to take a shower before breakfast.

"Well, you're up early, Pal." Mr. Jensen greeted with a warm smile as he saw Clay happily walk into the kitchen and take a seat at the kitchen table. "Yeah. I didn't even have to wake you up for family breakfast." Mrs. Jensen commented as she placed three plates of food on the table. Clay just smiled in response. "I'm just excited I get to see my friends after not seeing them all summer." Clay said, trying and failing to fight off the smile on his face. The two adults shared a look. "We talked last night." Mr. Jensen said, becoming noticably serious. "And?" Clay asked curiously, immediately knowing what his parents talked about the night before. "I don't really see a problem if you tell your friends the truth. Whether it be some of it or all of it, we'll talk about that with the Bakers while you're at school. Then we'll talk about this again later and see what happens from there." Mr. Jensen explained. "Really? You guys are the best!" Clay exclaimed happily, excited he had a high chance of being able to tell his friends the truth rather than lie to them again. Mr. and Mrs. Jensen smiled at each other before smiling at Clay again. "Well, I better get going. I'm going to surprise Hannah by stopping by her house to walk her to school." Clay explained as he got up from his seat after finishing his breakfast. Clay then took his empty plate and rinsed it off before placing it in the dishwasher. "Ok! Have a good day!" Mrs. Jensen said as Clay left, heading out the door and walking to Hannah's house, deciding against taking his bike.

Clay couldn't help the smile on his face as he saw the familiar house come into view. He noticed that there was no car parked in the driveway, so he assumed Hannah's parents were not home.

As Clay stepped onto the front porch, the front door opened before his raised fist could even knock on it. Both Hannah and Clay stood in their place, Hannah with a surprised expression on her face and Clay with his right arm raised in the air with his hand in a fist as he was about to knock. "Hey, Hannah." Clay greeted as he flashed a smile and lowered his arm to his side. Instead of replying back with words, Hannah quickly moved forward, pulling Clay into a tight hug. After getting over his shock from not expecting the hug, Clay gently yet firmly wrapped his arms around Hannah. "Where were you all summer, Helmet? I missed seeing you every day." Hannah said after pulling away from the hug. Taking a few seconds to come up with an answer, Clay said the first thing that came to mind. "I was visiting my grandparents for the summer." Clay lied, slightly stuttering. "But for the record, I missed being here to hang out with you and everyone else every day." Clay admitted, making a smile appear on Hannah's face. "Besides, I came by to walk with you to school." Clay said as he and Hannah started walking together side-by-side, their arms naturally linked together as they walked.

As the two friends reached Liberty High, they were excited to see everyone else. Being the first to spot them, Jessica and Justin walked over, both greeting Hannah before Jessica pulled Clay into a brief hug and Justin lightly patted his shoulder. Much like Hannah, the two had been curious about where Clay had been all summer, resulting in Clay telling the same lie he had told Hannah. "Something's different about you. Appearance-wise, I mean." Jessica thought aloud, noticing that something about Clay looked different. "Yeah, now that you say it out loud, he does look a little different." Justin said in agreement with his girlfriend, taking notice of the small difference too. Hannah observed Clay for a minute, taking notice that there was indeed something different about him. Smiling slightly, Hannah noticed how his hair looked a little different. "I think the difference looks good." Hannah said, lightly running her hand through his hair like she had done when they first met. Clay smiled at the complement. "Yeah, thought I'd try a new look over the summer. I guess I ended up liking it more than I thought I would." Clay said with a smile. "That's what it is!" Jessica exclaimed as she noticed Clay's new haircut. "I'd have to agree with them. That new haircut looks good, Jensen." Justin complimented with a smile. "Actually makes you look older. Maybe even more mature." Justin added, thinking aloud. "Well, thanks." Clay said with a smile.

Hearing the school bell ring, interupting their conversation, the small group of friends spit up, heading to their lockers to get the needed materials before heading off to their first class. Clay smiled to himself as he and Hannah walked through the halls together to their first class, Communications class. "I really do like the new hair, Helmet. It suits you." Hannah told him as they walked. Clay smiled down at his friend. "Thanks, Baker." Clay replied as he placed his arm over Hannah's shoulder. Clay sighed happily as they entered the classroom. He was thankfull that no one had payed enough attention to notice his injured hand yet. He sat down at his desk, placing his bag on the ground beside him as he placed a notebook and pencil on his desk. He then glanced up towards the front of the classroom, catching Hannah as she turned back towards the front as well. Clay smiled to himself, realizing that she had been looking at him before she had turned around. Clay blushed slightly, feeling his face heat up a little as Ms. Bradley started her lesson for the day.