Social Barricades

Thanks for the taking the time to read my story. Love you all. I have a beta so hopefully less mistakes.

Stay Crispy (penned by my ghetto friend Satsumasquisha)

A/M

Inadequacy is fatal. We often occupy our minds with irrelevant information and emotions, which weakens us and makes us all unable to grasp the true meaning of concepts and decisions made in this world. We are all inadequate. Some, admittedly, more than others, but still inadequate. I am the epitome of inadequate, a perfect case study. All my life I have never been quite enough for anybody or anything. My only wish, and I use the term very loosely, is to be enough, to be perfect for something anything at all, maybe this year will be different.

'Black coffee, strong, no frills'. The café is brimming with students, a haven and relief from the three hour lectures that are standard at Harvard. It even feels wrong now, after one year at this institute of knowledge I still don't feel like I belong. My parents forced me because, in their words: 'There is only one place where your mind will be fully appreciated and challenged'. I grab the hot cup from the counter and meander my way through the endless crowded tables to settle in a small booth. No one ever sits here; it's closed off and hidden. I settle myself to be met with the face of my best friend, Johanna. We are complete polar opposites but I suppose that makes sense.

'So what's up Doc?'

'My chances of becoming a rampant murderer,' I reply as I lean forward and look into the black coffee.

'Whoa, OK, I sense that I touched a nerve. This is me backing up emotionally and as a friend.' She puts her hands up and scoots back up the bench. I look up while emptying a pack of sugar into the coffee and give her a knowing smirk. I really care about her, which is weird because I have never cared much for anyone, apart form my parents. I don;t like dealing with emotions, I zone out as soon as anyone starts discussing their feelings. There have been many awkward moments with my dad, when he asked me on my feelings especially when I didn't get the highest grade in class. Maybe it was due to the fact that he watched way to many movies that he constantly felt the need to stop the car and turn to me with a down turned moustached face and say 'How are you feeling about your situation darling?', every other week. I guess thats why I am hardened towards emotions. I was constantly being told to voice them against my will that I decided not to have them, or if I did, not tell anyone. But with Johanna, she enables me to be me. She would never turn away during my many rants about how rubbish Harvard was, or on how I hate almost every single human being on this planet who is alive (I like mainly dead people). And she always had just the right answer to my problems that would put me at ease. Thats why I care for her. From the moment we meant, I new she wasn't like the boring clones I meet everyday. She had personality, was educated without being snobby and above all, understood why I hated everything (well most things) in life.

I dumped my books onto the table, sat down and propped myself up on my left elbow so I blocked off the person next to me. Social interaction and small talk were not my strong points. I tried to listen to the introductory talk on life at Harvard University, but frankly I could only see it as a sad gathering of wannabees who wanted a quick route to riches and academic triumph, and so I tuned out.

'You know I always find that the Philosophy of Human Nature 3.1 text book acts well as a social barricade.' I turned to find a brown haired girl with brown eyes that look as bored and tired as mine. I tilted my head to the side and frown.

'Just saying. Judging by your body language you are as disgusted and depressed as I am at the farce spectacle that is unravelling before our very eyes,' she says, indicating with her eyes at the lecturer who was pointing to a presentation slide saying 'Harvard makes the powerful leaders of tomorrow'.

'It is almost as if you read my mind. Katniss.' I move my hand forward to indicate that we should shake hands. She took it and firmly shook my hand and I noticed her eyes brighten.

'Johanna. Johanna Mason,' she said as a smile overtook her lips.

'Well it is wonderful to make your acquaintance Johanna. You're not half bad.' I observed as I removed my elbow from the table and sat up straight.

'Same to you, Katniss. How's about we blow this Popsicle stand and head over to the back court? Plenty of social barricades there.'

'Sounds legit,' I replied and begin to gather my bags.

And with that, we became friends. In fact more than that, we became allies, dependant on each other for relief from our gruelling academic schedule. We formed a relationship based one our dislikes, which may seem wrong, but in the words of the great Anonymous, 'Only hate is meaningful because it expresses philo-logical opposition, while love expresses no opposition, rendering it meaningless'. This is a quote I build my life upon.