"Daniel! Wake up!" Persephone Caldwell yelled through the door to her son's room.
"Okay…okay" Daniel said, fighting to keep his eyes open. When he rolled over, he discovered his copy of Pride and Prejudice to be underneath him. He realized that he must have fallen asleep while reading it.
Daniel Theodore Caldwell was a junior at Shawn Carter High School. It was said that he had the perfect life, and to an outsider, it probably seemed like he did. He was the star of the soccer team and his older brother; Christopher was the star of the football team and considered the most popular guy in school. Daniel and Christopher were the sons of Benjamin and Persephone Caldwell, which meant he was one of the most privileged kids living in Thermopolis. On top of being rich and skilled athletically, he was good looking. Everyone wanted to be his friend, and an invitation to one of his brother's parties at the "palace"—which was the nickname for the Caldwell's luxurious penthouse apartment—was considered an honor.
In reality, Daniel did not have the perfect life. The real reason he joined the soccer team was to make his father happy. He and his brother were almost complete strangers, having lost any connection when they became older. Daniel never cared much for being popular. He enjoyed it more when he was in middle school, but once he started high school, it began to annoy him. He often felt like if he wasn't rich or good-looking or Christopher's little brother, the people he hung out with would think he was a loser.
Daniel got ready for school and left the house in the rush, not bothering to eat breakfast. He grabbed his keys and his helmet before leaving and hopped on his motorcycle and sped away to school. The ride to school was fairly short, but Daniel always enjoyed it because he liked to see the scenery around him. He lived in Thermopolis, the second largest city in the country, Gotham City being the largest.
At school, some boys who were on the soccer team with him approached Daniel.
"Hey Danny! Man, what's up?" a particularly obnoxious boy named Stephen asked him as he tried to avoid the approaching crowd.
"Good morning Stephen." Daniel said politely, still trying to inch away from the attention.
"I thought you didn't like to be called Danny. You're cool with it now?" Stephen asked.
It was true. Daniel did not like being called Danny. He was okay with being called Dan, but Danny was crossing the line for him. Seeing as his birth certificate read, Daniel Theodore Caldwell, he figured he should be called by that name.
"I assumed that you had forgotten and were not calling me that just to see my reaction. I guess I misinterpreted your motive," Daniel said, coldly.
Immediately after the words left his mouth, Daniel regretted them. As much as they pissed him off, Daniel had to remember to be nice to the guys from the team. They were known to get into fights over little things, and Daniel was never much of a fighter. Growing up he never got into a serious fight before, and he imagined if he ever found himself in a fight he would not really use his hands. He would prefer something to give him the advantage, like a weapon of some sort.
To avoid the awkwardness that everyone was feeling since Daniel had just treated Stephen's life, Daniel searched the school parking lot for an excuse to leave. He spotted Christopher's girlfriend's best friend, Mia and remembered that he needed to ask her something.
"I just realized that I need to go talk to Mia. I'll see you all at lunch later. If you'll excuse me," Daniel said, turning his back to avoid any questions. He doubled his pace to catch up with Mia, and she smiled when she saw him.
"Daniel!" Mia said to greet him.
"Hey, what's up?" Daniel asked her.
Daniel considered Mia to be a good friend. They never really hung out, but whenever he ran into her at school he would start a conversation with her.
"Nothing much, I'm so tired right now. I was up all night doing homework." She said.
"Me too, except I was reading," Daniel lifted up his copy of Pride and Prejudice to prove it.
"One of my favorites, which part are you on?" Mia asked, looking honestly interested.
"I stopped after Mr. Darcy proposed to Elizabeth for the first time."
"Tell me what you think of the book when you finish it, okay?" Mia asked.
"Definitely! So are you coming over today to work on the project?" Daniel asked her, suddenly remembering that they were partners.
"Sure. I'd love to." Mia said, smiling again.
"Well, I have to go now. See you at lunch." Daniel sauntered off in the direction of his locker. When he got there Veronica was waiting for him, as she did every morning.
"Daniel." Veronica greeted.
"Hey Veronica," Daniel said in reply.
"I saw you talking to Mia," Veronica noted.
"Yeah, she's cool."
"I always thought she was kind of thirsty for Liz," Veronica said with a look of disdain on her face.
"No. I've seen them together outside of school, like away from it all. They're really close friends, despite their opposite personalities," Daniel defended his brother's girlfriend and Mia.
"Well I guess I just don't like those too. Mia and Liz."
"You have no reason not to." Daniel said, but then noticing that Veronica was making a face. "Let's just get to class," he suggested.
They walked to Homeroom together, stopping along the way a lot to greet friends.
Daniel didn't think of school any differently than most kids his age. He only went because he had to, and the only good thing about it was seeing his friends. He hated all of the rules, his classes, his teachers, and the usual things that most students hate about school. Of course there were a few exceptions, but overall he just wanted to get out of high school.
The main problem Daniel had in school was focusing on his schoolwork. He was always spending his time thinking about the most random things, and how he could turn them into a story. He wanted to be a writer, but he knew his parents would never approve. The only person that knew of his dream to become a writer was Veronica, and she never really said anything on the subject.
His morning classes passed in a blur. He tried his hardest to pay attention, but he had no luck. He was busy thinking of his newest chapter of his Star Wars fanfic. Once lunch rolled around he sat at his usual table and waited for his friends.
Christopher and his girlfriend Liz sat at the table, and it was immediately filled with guys from soccer and football and their girlfriends. Daniel was happy that Veronica took the seat next to him.
"Party at the Palace this weekend, I hear," Chris' best friend Jeff said to Daniel.
"Yeah it was Christopher's idea. It's going to be great!" Daniel said, trying his hardest to sound enthusiastic.
"Who's invited?" asked Jen, a cheerleader.
"The usual," Daniel started, "Everyone"
"Your parents must be so cool. They always let you have parties," Jen said.
"No not really. They can be really strict sometimes," Chris said.
Yes they are strict, thought Daniel as he reflected on the rules his parents set up for his brother and himself.
The Caldwell's had high expectations. Benjamin Caldwell was a very successful lawyer, and wanted one of his sons to follow in his footsteps. Persephone Caldwell was a professor on the other side of the city. She wanted her kids to be successful in life, just like her husband and herself. Both Christopher and Daniel had to get all A's, and participate in after school activities—otherwise they lost all privileges. During the week they couldn't hang out with friends unless it was school related or a very special occasion. This didn't bother Christopher, as long as he could have parties during the weekend. Daniel wished he had more free time, since he never really enjoyed the parties that they hosted.
"Yeah, but you guys are like so rich. You can have whatever you want," Tom added.
"Money isn't that important to me." Daniel said, quietly.
Everyone thought he was joking so they started laughing. Of course money was important to Daniel Caldwell! He always had expensive things; he wouldn't know what life was like without a lot of money.
Daniel laughed along with them, even though he really felt like setting them straight. Money wasn't anything to him, but he knew nobody would ever believe it.
"What's that book you got there, Danny?" Stephen asked him, pointing to his copy of Pride and Prejudice.
"Oh, it's Pride and Prejudice. You know by Jane Austen?" Daniel said.
"Isn't that like a girl book?" Stephen asked, chuckling.
"No, it may seem like one at the first look, but once you read it you realize it is more than just a romance," Daniel defended the book.
"Have you even read it?" Jen asked, incredulous.
"You guys, stop picking on Daniel." Mia said.
"I wanted to know. Has he read the book?" Jen asked.
"I'm in the process of reading it." Daniel answered honestly.
The table erupted into laughter again, and everyone branched off into smaller conversations about the latest gossip and the upcoming party.
Batman: He must have friends.
Maroni: Friends? Have you met this guy?
(About the Joker) Dark Knight [2008]