Joe surveyed himself in the bathroom mirror. He saw a pale, skinny, boy, all arms, legs, and a mop of black hair, tousled with sleep. Wide eyes that always looked ready to be scared were set in a long face. He puffed up his scrawny chest in an attempt to look manly. "How you doin'?" he said to his reflection, struggling to deepen his voice. The effect made him sound even more whinny, an embarrassing squeak punctuating the end of his sentence. The effort caused his skin to turn a most trendy and unusual shade of purple.
He eyed his pair of glasses resting on the table beside his bed, frowning slightly as he donned them. They made him look even more bug-eyed than ever. Joe's mouth closed slowly until it was sealed into a grim line. On went his usual school attire, white shirt and dark trousers, all with the school logo embroidered on them. His backpack stood guard near his door, slumped over with the weight of the many textbooks contained inside.
After raiding the shelves, he produced a granola bar and a can of slim fast. (chocolate!) "Bye mom!" He yelled as the door slammed behind him with a "whoosh." Joe was going to meet Izzy, Matt, and Tai at the red lamp post this morning, they planned to walk to school together. Usually Joe would hand his science homework over to Tai to copy, and "check" answers with Matt on Math. Izzy could walk while holding his laptop, managing to surf the net and not get lost on the way to school.
Bag banging against his leg, Joe munched thoughtfully on his granola bar, taking a big gulp of his chocolate drink to counteract the dryness.
"HEY THERE JOE! WHY THE LONG FACE?!" A hearty hand slapped Joe on the back, causing him to choke and splutter, eyes bulging as his breakfast flew in a clump to land in the nearby bush. Joe grimaced as a mischievous face entered his vision, with spiky brown hair, and an infectious, carefree smile. Tai was prone to talk in capital letters this early in the morning.
"Nothing, just thinking," Joe said, giving everyone a strained smile. Already hands were opening his backpack and pulling his science binder out.
"OH. OKAY. IT'S COOL OF YOU TO LEND ME YOUR SCIENCE HOMEWORK, MAN!" Tai promptly began to ignore everyone as he scribbled out answers on a wrinkled sheet of lined paper. Joe, always strict when it came to cleanliness, offered a clean sheet of lined paper form his own stash.
"GEE, REALLY? THAT'S NICE OF YOU!" Tai proceeded to rip out sheets of lined paper from Joe's binder. Joe winced at the sound.
"Joe, would you mind if I checked over my math questions with yours?" Matt walked beside Joe, hands dug into the pockets of his pants. Matt's blue eyes smiled, as his hands absently reached to brush a stray lock of blond hair that had fallen into his face.
"Sure, Matt," Joe dug into his bag once again, pulling out his recent math homework, numbers neat and tidy, all his answers underlined. Matt smiled gratefully.
Joe fell back to join Izzy, who usually the slowest walker and frequently lagged behind, preoccupied with the mysteries of the internet. Izzy rarely asked anything of Joe, and was ready to nod distractedly at anything he said. The conversation was always one-sided, though, and Joe quickly tired of it.
So he walked, quite depressed and down in the dumps, behind the busily scribbling Tai and Matt, in front of Izzy, whose legs seem to hold a life of their own.
He eyed his pair of glasses resting on the table beside his bed, frowning slightly as he donned them. They made him look even more bug-eyed than ever. Joe's mouth closed slowly until it was sealed into a grim line. On went his usual school attire, white shirt and dark trousers, all with the school logo embroidered on them. His backpack stood guard near his door, slumped over with the weight of the many textbooks contained inside.
After raiding the shelves, he produced a granola bar and a can of slim fast. (chocolate!) "Bye mom!" He yelled as the door slammed behind him with a "whoosh." Joe was going to meet Izzy, Matt, and Tai at the red lamp post this morning, they planned to walk to school together. Usually Joe would hand his science homework over to Tai to copy, and "check" answers with Matt on Math. Izzy could walk while holding his laptop, managing to surf the net and not get lost on the way to school.
Bag banging against his leg, Joe munched thoughtfully on his granola bar, taking a big gulp of his chocolate drink to counteract the dryness.
"HEY THERE JOE! WHY THE LONG FACE?!" A hearty hand slapped Joe on the back, causing him to choke and splutter, eyes bulging as his breakfast flew in a clump to land in the nearby bush. Joe grimaced as a mischievous face entered his vision, with spiky brown hair, and an infectious, carefree smile. Tai was prone to talk in capital letters this early in the morning.
"Nothing, just thinking," Joe said, giving everyone a strained smile. Already hands were opening his backpack and pulling his science binder out.
"OH. OKAY. IT'S COOL OF YOU TO LEND ME YOUR SCIENCE HOMEWORK, MAN!" Tai promptly began to ignore everyone as he scribbled out answers on a wrinkled sheet of lined paper. Joe, always strict when it came to cleanliness, offered a clean sheet of lined paper form his own stash.
"GEE, REALLY? THAT'S NICE OF YOU!" Tai proceeded to rip out sheets of lined paper from Joe's binder. Joe winced at the sound.
"Joe, would you mind if I checked over my math questions with yours?" Matt walked beside Joe, hands dug into the pockets of his pants. Matt's blue eyes smiled, as his hands absently reached to brush a stray lock of blond hair that had fallen into his face.
"Sure, Matt," Joe dug into his bag once again, pulling out his recent math homework, numbers neat and tidy, all his answers underlined. Matt smiled gratefully.
Joe fell back to join Izzy, who usually the slowest walker and frequently lagged behind, preoccupied with the mysteries of the internet. Izzy rarely asked anything of Joe, and was ready to nod distractedly at anything he said. The conversation was always one-sided, though, and Joe quickly tired of it.
So he walked, quite depressed and down in the dumps, behind the busily scribbling Tai and Matt, in front of Izzy, whose legs seem to hold a life of their own.
