Its weird that I imagine Lucas getting semi-different lessons from the things they're learning in class. Heres the next part
When your teacher gives you a gift as part of the lesson, you don't expect it. You read the card aloud and grin wide when he's successfully helped you in making the blonde dance on the teachers desk. She glares at you, but you like messing with her, it makes life exciting.
You go to the genius' debate tournament and it's exciting for you. There wasn't a debate team back in Texas and you doubt you would have joined if there had been. But your spirits drop when he loses once again to the rivaling school. You talk to some of the other kids on the team and you're surprised to hear that they cover a lot of issues that you have strong opinions on. You have some pretty good arguments too. And you wonder if they need any more members because you're sure you can handle something like this as well as football.
So the next day, you walk into your history classroom where they're having the debate team meeting. You try to assimilate into their group, but the other members are uneasy because you seem like more of a jock. Your best friend stands up for you, saying that they shouldn't judge a book by its cover. And you smile awkwardly because you know that you're hiding behind a lot more than a cover, you've built up a cover, a thick authors note, and a preface for the entire time you've been at this school. You look like a jock, you act like a cowboy (apparently), and you've pretended to be Mr. Perfect. You're not sure what you're really hiding under all that, but you hope no one reads it yet. You have to find out what kind of story you have before you let other people see it.
The girls walk in and the first thing you notice is that the blonde is wearing glasses. You know she doesn't need them, so you question it. You're told that its an experiment to see if people will treat her differently and so far, the debate members are flocking around her. You thinks it's weird that this would be such a big change for them, you know who she is still. She's always been a little spitfire and she still is even with the addition of eyewear (which actually made her look really adorable, you're not going to lie). They tell your genius friend that they have a girl they want him to meet and tell you that you can meet them at the bakery when your mama lets you leave after your homework.
When you show up at the bakery, you officially meet your friend's rival for the first time. The blonde and the brunette have given her a makeover, and you tell her she looks nice. She gets nervous when she sees you and you're a little confused because this isn't the evil genius you were expecting. She seems to be flustered which is not a word that has been used to describe her when you asked the members of the debate team. Per your best friend's request, you sit next to her, and when she asks you if you want to be her mate, you can't help the mildly fearful look that appears on your face. She keeps talking and you're a little concerned because it appears that she has developed some kind of infatuation with you.
When the mop headed brunette confirms that you will probably be a distraction to his rival in the next debate, you smile at him. You finally understand what he was trying to get at and if he's right, this win could go to JQA middle school this time around. You leave with him when it's time for the debate team meeting and you're excited to prepare for your first debate.
What you didn't anticipate is that he would be preparing you more by using scientific sources to 'pretty' you up so that you're the ultimate distractor for the girl on the other team rather than preparing you with sound and logical arguments for the actual debate. And you wonder if the only way they see you is as a perfect, pretty face. It bothers you. But they let you voice the concluding statement after it all and you think you did a pretty convincing job of it even though you lost.
You go out to the bakery afterwards for a snack and to talk with your friends. Your friend's rival asks you out and the brunette gets a little possessive (which is adorable to you). A slow smile spreads across the blonde's face as she realizes that you're being used to make the genius jealous. You smirk as you realize how true that statement is, and you're a little amused and a tad hurt, but when your friend's joke with you, you're okay with it because you have them and that's just enough for you.
You and your genius best friend have found that the cafeteria food works better as building material than as food. So, one day you decide to make Mt Blah with his scientific knowledge and your knack for construction. When the food volcano explodes, you grin because you should do this every time you have lunch. You know its a little rebellious for your new persona, but it's fun and you've got the good kids in on it so you think you're okay.
Because of the food-cano (as you and your friend are lovingly dubbing it), the girls are assigned cafeteria duty as their elective. You and the genius laugh at their misfortune until you're assigned janitorial services. So for forty five minutes of the day, you help clean up after your classmates' messes and provide maintenance for the different teachers (although you do most of the heavy lifting of books and desks because your friend has the muscle mass of a bean sprout). And you're mopping throw up off the floors and you wonder why everyone in this school has such a weak stomach as you hear the disgusting sound of another kid's lunch exiting his body. You're beginning to understand your teachers reasoning for putting you in this elective because you're understanding what it really means to be forgotten.
So when you present to the class what you've learned from working with the janitor, you think you've grown up a little, not just because it was hard and mildly terrifying, but also because you now understand that you aren't the center of the universe.
Now that you've had this experience, you notice things a lot more. Like how the lunch lady always smiles at each student whether they smile back or not. And how the janitor is always swooping in to take dishes or clean up a little spill. You're going to try and notice a whole lot more now, because you wonder how much else you've missed by being absorbed with your own needs. So when you get home from school, you give your mama a hug and help her with dinner because you just realized that you have a home cooked meal every day and that must take a lot of work. And today, you're truly thankful for the behind the scenes people.