This Alternate Universe fanfic is based off the song "Don't Laugh at Me", but it is not a songfic. The two main characters you recognize are the two belonging to CBS.
A five-year-old first grader is a laughingstock at school. He's scrawny and skinny with a shaggy mess of hair, and big thick glasses. People constantly pick on him and shove him around the halls. He lugs around a backpack with straps held together by duct tape. The boy has zero friends, and just tries to get by each day. He wakes up early in the morning to fix breakfast and hide his mother's pills in her oatmeal. He rides the waves through her battle with schizophrenia. He eventually leaves for school, walking since he doesn't find the bus particularly safe.
"Hey, Geek Bait." A sixth grader named Zeke stops him by the school gate. "Got anything for me?"
The boy flinches but nods and sets down his backpack. He pulls out a manila folder with a 'Z' printed on the label. The older kid snatches it away.
"The algebra is good enough for you to get a B, and your history paper is long enough for a low A."
"Better not screw me over, Kid."
Zeke shoves him into the gate, and he runs off with his friends. The boy, Spencer, lets out a long sigh and then wrenches away. He ends up tearing his shirt, but he pays it no mind. He grabs his backpack and continues into the school. He keeps his gaze lowered, passing by an eight-year-old fourth grader. The fourth grader is a shy blonde girl. She wears thinner glasses, but she also wears shiny purple braces that cause her voice to stutter and lisp. She's sitting on the front stoop, writing in her notebook. Suddenly, Zeke and his little gang rounds up on her. One of his friends, Boston, knocks the book out of her hands.
"Whatcha writing, Dweebette?"
"N-n-nothing." She answers, voice barely above a whisper.
The book is passed around the gang, only to be dumped into a mud puddle. The boys offer phony apologies, and thrust the girl around their group. The last of the boys, fifth grader Brett, trips her to fall face-first into the same puddle. When first bell finally rings, the girl finally climbs out of the puddle. She, Penelope, walks to the initial available restroom. She cleans herself off the best she can, and she moves on to a stall where she remains throughout the morning. At lunch, she breaks away for the cafeteria. Spencer is sitting alone at a table, picking at an apple. The rest of his food has been stolen, but he's used to it. By the time lunch ends, Spencer has only eaten less than half of the apple. Boston trips him when he stands, grabbing the apple. The younger boy stands again, joining his class in line. Boston then hurls the fruit at the boy.
Spencer ducks, tripping over his feet and causing the next person in line to fall. However, Boston doesn't have a good arm. The apple falls short, landing on Penelope's tray. Sauce sprays all over her, causing the lunchroom to erupt in laughter. The cafeteria monitor quiets down the kids, placing blame on Penelope for disrupting everyone. Close to an hour later is recess. Penelope remains on the teacher bench, writing in her notebook until it is stolen from her lap. Her classmates start a taunting game of Keep Away. Spencer, on the other hand, is short enough to duck away from the rest of his class. He hides away in the library, his favorite place in the school.
"Hello, Spence." The librarian greets him without looking up from her crossword. "Past the sixth-grade reading level yet?"
"Seventh." Spencer nods, walking to the back shelves.
He doesn't check any books out, but he can read a thousand-page book in half an hour and remember every word. He hops back in line with his class, and his teacher is none the wiser. He finishes the rest of the day, barely saying a word. After school, Spencer takes the briefest shortcut possible. Doing so, he just narrowly evades Zeke's gang. Penelope lives in the other direction, but she rides her bike as quickly as possible.
"Pen." Her twelve-year-old seventh grade brother Francis acknowledges her with a nod.
He is playing catch with one of his friends in the front yard. Their fourteen-year-old freshman brother Calvin and their fifteen-year-old sophomore brother Joseph are staying late for baseball practice. Lastly, their nineteen-year-old brother Simba is coaching amateur basketball to preschool-aged children. Penelope jumps straight into her homework, trying her best to avoid her overly strict mom and stepdad. She does her best to avoid her family when the pizza comes. Her mom is still at work, and her stepdad only grabs a slice before leaving with Francis to a football game. Spencer fixes a dinner for his mother, and he eats alongside her until she begins to rebel. He injects her with her medicine, and she gradually falls asleep. After showering on separate ends of town, Spencer and Penelope find themselves wrapped in duvets and silently crying themselves to sleep.
I love this song, and I relate to it a lot. I hope you liked reading it. Have a wonderful New Year!