'First day of sophomore year, brilliant.' James thought, sighing as he walked through the doors into the hallway of the massive high school. 'Summer vacation went far too fast. At least I can meet the new freshmen' He looked around, spotting some of his friends in the sea of faces, but the irresistible force of the students surrounding him prevented him from moving backwards to meet them. He resigned himself to the flow and began moving towards the cafeteria to start his day with a nap before homeroom before being jolted out of his stupor by a hand placed on his shoulder and a loud greeting.
"Hey, JR!" Kenny laughed as he pulled level with his friend. "How've ya been? Damn, it seems like forever since the last day of freshman year!" He laughed again and pulled his bro to the side before placing him in a headlock and leading him through the other student's towards the cafeteria.
"Gurk…" James choked out, struggling against Kenny's arm, wrapped around his neck. "I'm doing fine, let me go!" Kenny laughed and released him. James stood up and got a look at his "brother". Kenny had gotten a healthy tan over the summer, as well as growing another few inches, probably passing six feet. His hair was a lighter brown than the last time they met, most likely from the time in the sun that gave him his tan. Kenny turned around and began walking to the cafeteria, beckoning for his brother to follow.
"C'mon, I have something to show you!" James followed obediently, taking out a Rubix Cube and fiddling with it while he walked. "Well, more of a someONE…well 2 someone's actually, but you get the point! They're coming here…" James tuned out his friend's excited rambling and focused on the cube, manipulating the sides to mix up and solve the cube again and again. Unfortunately, his distraction with the puzzle lead to some painful consequences.
Namely running into the cafeteria door.
James rubbed his head, grumbling in pain while Kenny laughed again. 'Why the heck is he in such a cheery mood?' James thought. 'It's the first day of school, he's usually a zombie every other time. I bet he met someone special over the summer. But it was 2 people…' James' thoughts trailed off as he took a seat beside Kenny.
2 freshmen detached from the main group hovering around one of the larger tables and joined them. One was a shy girl, who seemed more interested in the column next to them than the group, and the other was a confident guy who smiled as he sat.
"Hello! The name's Shinora, pleased to meet you!" the guy said, extending his hand towards James.
"Hey, I'm JR." James said, taking the boy's hand and giving it a shake. "Who's the girl?"
"That girl has a name, you know." She muttered, her voice sounding hollow and far away. Kenny chuckled at the response and took the introductions into his own hands.
"Her name is Sirren, and this is JR." he said, motioning for them to shake hands. The girl tentatively stretched out her hand and James took it, giving it a shake much like the one he had given Shinora. She quickly removed her hand, placing it back on her lap and staring at the floor again until Kenny gave her a pat on the shoulder and her head lifted slightly.
"Now that introductions are over, how is everybody doing today?"
The rest of the conversation went much like that, with meaningless chatter exchanged between the four, and all the while James was wondering why Kenny had introduced him to these freshman, and where his bro knew them from.
After homeroom, the group didn't get back together again until the end of the day and Kenny was chattering excitedly about a new place he found over the summer. "It's called the Cat's Cradle Bar," he said. "It's a very fun place, but don't let the name fool you. Unless you actually buy alcohol they don't check for ID. In fact, I met quite a few underage patrons there over the summer." James wondered if that was where Kenny had met the freshmen who had joined them for the walk home.
Kenny took a sharp turn down an unfamiliar street, and James followed. "Where are you going? You live back there." James said quickly, pointing back to the intersection.
"Yeah but I really want to show you the place I was talking about! Trust me, it's really cool! Shin and Sirren will vouch!"
The freshmen nodded their agreement and James gave a sigh. "Fine, but be quick. We have homework to finish."
Kenny practically sprinted down the street after that. A few turns later, the group came face to face with a non-descript one story building, an open sign posted on the front door. The Cat's Cradle was plastered in large letters on a sign above the door.
"Here we are!" Kenny said, opening the door. He held out a hand to stop JR from entering as the freshmen crossed the threshold. In the dark of the room beyond, the younger kids disappeared from sight almost immediately.
"Are you sure it's open, Kenny? I mean, all the lights are off…" James said, poking his head into the entry way.
Kenny laughed and walked in ahead of James, saying "Of course it's open! That's what the sign says!" The darkness swallowed him up as well, leaving James alone and standing in the doorway.
He gulped and muttered, "Here goes nothing…" before crossing the barrier between the outside world and the interior of the bar.