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Chapter 1

"Very good, Junior. Please have a seat next to Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer ended the introduction with a point of his index finger towards the other black-haired boy in the back of the room. Junior complied and quickly went to his newly assigned seat, hoping to avoid as much attention as possible.

Dash Baxter, star quarterback and resident bully of Casper High, turned towards Junior and whispered so Mr. Lancer couldn't hear. "Hey, nerd, what's with those creepy green glasses? Did you get glowing ones 'cause you're scared of the dark?"

"A-actually, I prefer the darkness," Junior replied shakily. "I have to w-wear these glasses because my eyes are sensitive to light. The glowing is j-just extreme reflectiveness."

Dash rolled his eyes with a "Whatever, freak," then turned away from Junior to face the teacher again. When Dash's attention was elsewhere, he didn't notice Junior's nervousness shift into a very angry expression. Now shaking with rage rather than fear, Junior began to stand, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Whoa, there, Junior. Dash Baxter is not worth your time, trust me. I learned that a long time ago," whispered the boy that Junior knew only as Fenton. "My name's Danny." Danny was wary of the newcomer - he might be overshadowed - but Junior seemed nice enough, at least when he wasn't being provoked. Plus, he couldn't be all bad if he hated Dash. Still, Danny decided to keep an eye on him.

Junior's expression immediately became nervous again. "H-hi, Danny. Thanks for s-stopping me. He p-probably would've f-flattened me. I know I overreacted, but he just reminded me of another bully I had in fifth grade. I actually m-moved here because I was hoping to avoid that, but I guess bullies are everywhere." As he said this, he slumped in his seat dejectedly, and Danny couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Hey, how about you sit with me and my friends at lunch? It would be great to have an addition to our table!" Danny offered.

Junior's expression brightened considerably; he looked like an entirely different person when he was happy, and it was a welcome change. "R-really? You want me to sit with you?" Junior asked ecstatically.

"Sure!" Danny smiled, loosening up a bit. This new kid was so open with his facial expressions that Danny couldn't help but feel more trusting than he was initially. However, Danny's expression soon grew more serious. "I have to warn you though, my friends and I aren't very popular. I used to want to be, but I realized a while back that being popular means being a snob, and I just can't act like that."

Junior actually chuckled at this. "I used to want to be popular too, but it never really worked out for me. Now I'm just glad to have friends at all."

"Amen to that!" Danny agreed. "In any case, you don't need to associate yourself with people like Dash. We can all be outcasts together!"

The corners of Junior's mouth raised a bit, but the small smile quickly faded back to his perpetual worried frown. I just hope they don't find out just how much of an outcast I really am, he thought.