Going into high school was a very awkward transition for Lars and over the years it seemed to get worse. Just recently he had to deal with his efforts to befriend 'cool kids' getting in the way of his friendship with his long time best friend, Sadie. There really was something that always got in the way of things for him. Lars found himself tongue tied whenever he encountered other students, usually female students. There were times when he'd say stupid things that made no sense to even him and he'd try to laugh off the awkward silence that followed. No one got his "witty" humor or enjoyed his sarcastic comments like Sadie did (well more like tolerated). It was these things that could be overlooked and possibly 'make him cool' but, it was his attitude that really made people wary of him.
Anyone who knew Lars well, by that I mean Sadie, knew that he liked to keep quiet about anything really personal. He lied as if he needed it as much as he needed air to breath. Lars built walls that were locked up so tight that sometimes even Sadie couldn't get through. It wasn't a secret that Lars loved to boast and knock people down a peg but, he hated rude people. So, in a nutshell the boy was a hypocrite, a liar, and liked to believe he was a big shot. These personalities are what turned people away from him and blinded them from his good qualities.
Even though he would lie his way out of any situation or make up a story make himself seem better, however, sometimes Lars could be honest. By honest I mean blunt and by sometimes I mean usually. That fact isn't as bad as it sounds though, Lars has used his blunt honesty to verbally assault the self esteem of any kid who bothered Sadie. He was protective of her and wasn't going to let anyone do anything to hurt her.
People in high school were different from the people Lars and Sadie met on an everyday basis. They weren't friendly old ladies, kind parents, or even annoying kids. No, high schoolers all seemed to have some clique they belonged to where they were all copies of each other. They were incredibly ditzy or always grumpy -hating the world- and there were some who just not pleasant. Like any impressionable young man, Lars did what anyone would by following the crowd.
It was the reason he had cut his hair into the style it was now, having dyed it a bright orange since dark brown was too plain. He hoped to have more then just simple plugs, possibly an eyebrow or nose piercing, but knew it might have overstepped things. Then he took to wearing ripped jeans and rock t-shirts to help. It didn't do much except make Sadie giggle slightly when she first saw it and make his father shake his head. That wasn't anything new to Lars though, his father usually did that whenever Lars did something wrong. It always made him ready to pull his hair out but, his father always found a way to change his mind whether intentionally or not.
His father had been on the honor roll, sometimes at dinner he spoke of his high school and college years being the best. It made Lars strive to have the best and most eventful time in his life. The reason behind his want of showing his father he could have the same was so they would talk. There were a few times that Lars ever got the chance to get to know his father before being shut out. The only times where they would have anything close to real conversations would be when Lars brought up high school or college.
In the earlier years of Lars' young life he remembers his parents cuddling him as they recounted old times. Lars remembered his father used to speak just ever so loosely with his mother about their college days, always reminiscing. There were times that the man would retell the story with Lars after a few glasses of wine and a cigar. Sadly, his father seemed to just shut down half way to go to his study or tell Lars he needed to go to bed. Nowadays he doesn't bother to even ask about his father's past and takes to listening to whatever he could. Slowly he's piecing together things about his father and savoring any information about his mother. So far he knows she had been a psychologist and loved peanut butter fudge more than air itself.
He remembers his first day of school was spent keeping his head down, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Sadie had stayed by his side as long as she could but, after the introductions of the principal and deans she was swept up by the crowd. With his heart pounding almost out of his chest, his mouth dry, and hands sweating he wasn't sure what to do. They were just calling out names of teachers and their classrooms while some guy read off names of students going with those teachers. He wasn't even sure if his name had been called yet.
Lars wanted to just grab someone and scream 'WHERE AM I GOING' but, he knew that would attract too much attention. Whenever he'd ask an adult before they would always say how it's easier for first years to just be quiet. So Lars was going to try and be as quiet as can be but, it left him nervous. After sneaking over to a teacher they had given him the name of his teacher and ushered to his class. It seemed like he was alone and it stayed that way until he finally saw Sadie outside.
When Sadie asks what happened while she was gone all he said is ,"Eh... it wasn't really a big deal."
"Are you sure? You seemed like you were kinda-", Sadie began but Lars just waved her off as he hurried to the bus.
Sadie sighed and hurried after him, knowing it must have been pretty lousy from the way he was acting.
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Sadie had always been an optomist about a lot of things and school was one of those things. She has always been the type to do exceptionally well when it came to school. Teachers loved how she was coapperative, the lunch ladies loved how polite she was, and other students liked that she would offer help whenever they needed it. Her mother often told her that she was like the star of the school with how many calls she'd get from the principal saying how wonderful Sadie was. Though it was a nice thing to hear Sadie honestly found it tiring trying to meet everyone's expectations for her.
Those times that Sadie was polite to the lunch ladies was just her curiosity getting the best of her and getting into conversations that dragged on too long. Whenever she found a way to politely excuse herself she'd find a teacher who asked her to do something. She'd do so without verbally protesting but, in her mind all she could do is curse herself for not sticking up for herself. When students badgered her for her notes and homework work till she coughs it up isn't something she wants to do because resistance only lead to more badgering. Finally came the principal who seemed to fuel her mother into pressuring her more to be just an utterly perfect little angel.
Starting out in highschool just made Sadie cringe because she wasn't ready to deal with kids from the city and nearby cities messing with her all year. Having not grown at all over vacation and having gotten plumper won't help with dealing with the teens either. Pulling on a long sleeve, an oversized sweater, and a pair of her faded jeans she met Lars at his house. Together she and Lars hurried off to school, making a promise to stay with one another but, sadly it didn't work out too well.
The uneasy young blonde had sat in a ball, looking around curiously at the new people around her. There were some with strangely dyed hair and crazy colored contacts. Some were from different parts of the city that she'd only met once or twice, others from close by cities. Seeing all these new people had Sadie both excited and scared. For every possible chance at making a friend there was that unnerving knowledge that you could also make an enemy.
So she moved cautiously through the crowd, keeping comments to herself, and trying not to get in her way. It wasn't until she was approached by Jenny, the daughter of the pizza shop owner, came and offered her a spot near them during the day. She took them up on their offer; surprisingly she found herself enjoying their chats, the strange humor of Sour Cream, Deweys cool outlook, and Jenny's kind nature. They joked and enjoyed themselves until finally the bell rang to dismiss them early as was customary on their first day of school. The group split up and Sadie moved outside, standing by the narrow steps of the school leading to the close by bus stop.
Sadie had moved to greet Lars with a large smile but, it quickly changed to a worried look as she asked ,"What happened Lars? You seem...upset."
Lars shrugs while muttering ,"Eh... it wasn't really a big deal."
"Are you sure? You seem kinda-", Sadie tried but he just shook her off and hurried to the bus stop, leaving Sadie calling after him.
When Lars doesnt respond, Sadie just sighs before hurrying after him, she knew that he probably didn't have a good day. So Sadie just hoped that it would all just get better for him over time.
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Since that first day the two have found themselves having their fears come true with school as Sadie was overly depended on and Lars was ignored. They had few classes togehter and many wouldn't even know they were friends if it wasn't for the fact they always had lunch togehter. Neither really enjoyed being in highschool and they cherished their time after school at the Big Donut. Besides, if they liked high school they wouldn't go into work early like they do to complain about everything to one another.