Scars (Ziam)

No Nightmare

"I still think you should read something after school. The people in the club won't judge you. We're sort of like the outcasts of the school," He commented, but I found that hard to believe.

I knew who Louis was before we even met. He was the star in every single one of the school's theatre productions. He could sing, dance, and act like it was nobody's business. He was so outspoken, and he was probably one of the most popular kids in school-- without also being a complete asshole. He was the president of the theatre club, and he was also in the running for student body president. If he was considered an outcast, then what did that make the rest of us, exactly?

Harry was pretty popular as well. Even though he wasn't as talkative and front-and-center as Louis was, people just knew who he was. He was the academic type for sure. He was incredibly kind to everyone who spoke to him, and he was currently being crushed on by every single girl in our class. He was the perfect poster-child, and he just seemed to have a wit and charm to him. While he may be on the more introverted side, he was still intelligent, kind, and handsome enough to be considered popular throughout the school. Everyone just seemed to know his name and who he was. Besides, his articles in the school newspaper were often the ones that were favored by many.

I thought about the other kids in the club, and I realized that they were all fairly popular with their own friend groups and school clubs. While they may not be voted class favorites, they were all fairly welcomed into the intimidating society that was high school. If anyone could be labeled an outcast, I was afraid that only I could qualify.

"You're the most popular person I know," I mumbled out, and Louis seemed throw his hands out as he brushed off my statement.

"Okay, so maybe not exactly outcasts, but who I am with everyone else, especially in theatre, isn't the real me. It's not the me that I am allowed to be in the writing club. It's not the same as sharing my most personal thoughts through my writing. Sure, to be a great actor, you sort of have to know yourself first, but with writing it's different. It's getting to know the most minuscule parts of yourself-- things that you didn't even know were ever there-- in a way that acting will never reveal."

"So... what you're saying is that it's all just an act in itself? You... and everyone in that club... are just misunderstood?"

"Aren't we all?" Louis responded without missing a single beat.

I think that was the understatement of the century.

"Then what makes the people in this club so special?" I wondered. If everyone was just a misunderstood human being, putting on an act to get by in the world, then how could one writing club suddenly bring out the true person underneath?

"We're being brave enough to write things down that will only be for our eyes to see, and we are sharing it with others. You heard a few works that people wrote during the first meeting you attended. You can't tell me those weren't from somewhere deep inside that so many people are terrified to reach."

I thought back to that meeting, and I knew Louis was right in some way. There were three works that were read aloud that day, and each one was much deeper than the typical teenager surface level thoughts. One girl wrote about her parents' divorce and how it effected her when she was just eight years old. She titled it "Two of Everything." Another girl wrote about the death of her grandfather, and she spoke about how it led to her depression in middle school. It was really moving, but I was so wrapped up in my own mind to fully listen to her words. Finally, there was a boy who wrote about feeling like he wasn't allowed to cry because of the way he was raised, and it really messed him up as he grew older and went through some pretty heavy loses. It was emotional build-up, and I was pretty sure he allowed a tear or two to fall as he read it aloud to the club.