Outcasts

Chapter 1: Part 1

The year is 2017, in a world full of pop culture and social media, teenagers strive to fit into a standard appearance and attitude that has been set by society. While in this culture many teens manage to blend in with this standard as they lose themselves, there are still those who have trouble changing who they are. These teens are so unique that their differences cause them to stand out, and rather than accepting the beauty of their uniqueness, society casts them out as if they are diseased and cursed.
This is the story of four young talented outcasts who cross paths and discover that together they are more powerful than the society that rejected them.

East LA High School. Home of the Fighting Chameleons
-Marissa's POV
My eyes wander the room, I see the clock as it stands at the front of the room playing Devil's advocate as the rest of the students scurry to finish this exam before the bell rings. A slight glance to the left and I see Samantha Summers as she writes the answer to a question that she has just retrieved from her phone. She probably got a text with the answer from some nerdy senior that she promised to show b00b to, I know that promise won't be fulfilled though.
I look to the right and I see Thomas asleep without a single answer on his paper. People call him cool because he doesn't care about school. Yet they laugh at me because I care too much. And because of his athletic ability the teachers will pass him anyway.
Then my eyes fall back to my own paper, 120 questions with three hours given to us to finish it. But I was done about 15 minutes in. I flip through the pages looking for an error but I know I won't find any. Every answer is right, they're always right. My brain analyses things at an alarming rate, it scares people how smart I am. Just one of my many curses in this life. I don't belong here, no one accepts me, I'm a freak, do I even have a purpose?
The bell rings and I grab my books and dash toward the front of the class to drop off my paper and rush out of class to avoid any hurtful slurs that may be thrown my way. As I turn the corner at almost full speed, I bump into another kid nearly knocking both of us to the ground. My books fall and he helps me pick them up. He's a smaller guy but I know he's a senior because I've seen him before, I think his name is Lars. He says something to me but I don't hear him, I try to refrain from eye contact as I grab the rest of my books and rush to my next class to avoid further humiliation. I still manage to hear the whispers that are exchanged from the lips of the juvenile, they all pertain to me.
My name is Marissa, and this is what I go through every single day.

East LA High School. Home of the Fighting Chameleons
-Lars' POV

My life sucks...why does everything bad happen to me?.. Don't think about it...just DON'T think about it!...your wrist is showing, better cover that up...last night was really bad...DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!! just don...Ugh. Oh man who did I just bump into? Why am I so clumsy??...it's a girl. I've seen her before, it's that smart girl Marina or Marissa something like that...uh oh better smile so she thinks I'm happy...I should say something. "Sorry about that, had a lot on my mind I didn't see you". Okay no answer, better just finish helping her with her books. She's so weird!...your wrist is showing again. Cover it up!...oh great here comes Josh and his boys. Better turn right so they don't see me...My name is Lars and well, I have no friends. Not to mention my life at home is horrible, I'm not athletic, I live inside my head so people think I'm weird, not too smart, not the most handsome guy in the world. And oh yeah I Cut, quite frequently I guess you could say. And at this High School that pretty much puts me at the bottom of the food chain. Like the Very bottom, in fact I don't think I'm even on the food chain anymore. Like go all the way to the bottom and look under it and that's where you'll see me. Turns out the Only thing I'm good at is...not being seen...and unfortunately sometimes I fail at that.