A/N: Alright, so this story is now on its way to being completely reconstructed, however since I did not have a Beta when I originally wrote this many years ago, there are still mistakes here and there. My writing style has change since this very old piece, but I left it up because we all need to compare the new to the old to see where we came from, right? So, even though I know there aren't that many Freaks and Geeks readers out there, I hope you enjoy.
McKinley High School
Michigan
1980
Katherine Jane Welsh was a freak. She was a burnout, an abortion, and a weirdo. There were three tracks in High School, as Daniel explained it. 'Track one', 'track two' and 'track three'. 'Track one' was the smart kids, 'track two' was the normal kids, and 'track three' was the dumb kids. Katherine was clearing 'track three' long before she entered high school. As if that wasn't enough, McKinley High had seemingly divided itself into social groups; the jocks, geeks, freaks, Goths, Hispanics and blacks. In her dichotomized school, there was only one haven - the patio. She could smoke to her heart's delight, and no one would bother her or give her cruel glances. Her only friends – Daniel, Nick, Kim and Ken – were like bright patches of light in pitch-black darkness. They held her up by tiny thin strings that were too close to snapping. They were constant support beams that never seamed to crumble.
When she needed to throw up in class, Daniel was there for her. When she got too drunk at a party, Kim was there for her. When she got so high she couldn't stand up, Nick was there for her. When she felt like slitting her wrists, Ken was there for her.
Katherine was a ticking time bomb that her friends seemed to keep diffusing. But for some reason, something kept lighting the match.