AN: Might be the last one for a while, with all the little oneshots out and 'on paper' so to speak, I'll be working on Racing Time.
Wilbur Robinson was not a popular kid.
Not that he was disliked or bullied, he just didn't fit the stereotypical sense of the word. He didn't play football, he never went to the good parties, and sometimes he even talked to the weird kids.
No, not popular material at all.
At least that's what Ashley Hampton and her friends thought. A group of students sat in the back corner of the classroom, not having done any work in the fifteen minutes they'd been given during the class period. It was Friday, and making sure they had the after game party planned was more important than chemistry.
"Robinson are you coming this time? Or you gunna ditch like always?"
"I'm busy this weekend." The teen in question answered distractedly while working on one of the problems on the practice sheet.
"I told you." Ashley huffed to the football player that had originally asked, flipping her hair when they received a warning from the teacher.
"H2O is, like, water right?" The other jock commented idly.
"I'm assuming that's a joke." Wilbur cut in as he put together the correct magnets to display the compound makeup, mentally cursing the teacher for the fifth time in half an hour for deciding they would work in groups.
"No I really didn't know." The jersey clad boy laughed as he filled in the blank space on the sheet.
"What's so important you can't come to the party of the year? Everyone's going to be there." The other cheerleader of the group continued, as if there wasn't class work to be done in front of them.
"I'm not going to be around." Wilbur shrugged, leaning back in his chair and putting his pencil down.
"Aren't you going to that conference with your parents?" Adam supplied sheepishly from his other side. The 'popular' kids terrified him, but when Wilbur was around, there was enough of a buffer that he wasn't completely mute.
"Oh." Ashley drawled out. "Should we tune in to Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous?"
"MTV isn't really our style, Ashley." Wilbur said condescendingly. "But I doubt you know how to sound out a word like 'Discovery'."
"Ohhhhh." The jocks began to laugh, a low comment of 'want some ice for that burn?' was heard from somewhere, and the students within earshot all looked toward the verbal sparring, waiting for a response from the red faced cheerleader.
"I'd rather go to the party anyway." She replied in a catty tone.
Wilbur won that round.
The teacher finally stood from behind her desk, warning the students that if they didn't quiet down and get to work, the whole group would be kept after the bell rang. This tactic finally succeeded, because all that stood between them and freedom was a short twenty minutes. The pep rally was going to be held outside in the stadium, meaning all students were dismissed from their last two classes. It was smooth sailing from here on out.
No one could miss that, that would be social suicide. So who was leaving early?
Wilbur Robinson.
Once they'd reviewed and gone over the answers, the class was permitted to have the rest of the period to themselves. The topic of conversation around them, of course, immediately returned to the game.
Adam zipped up his backpack and crossed his arms over the bag, watching Wilbur organize his own belongings. "When are you leaving?"
"As soon as the bell rings."
"What?" Came a feminine voice from behind them, the cheerleader listening in on the conversation and making a face. "You're missing the pep rally too?"
"Yeah, and?" The dark haired boy shrugged his shoulders and gave her an equally nasty look.
Adam watched the girl warily as she joined the clique congregated at the door, looking back toward his friend once he was sure the tension had cleared.
"They don't bother you?"
Wilbur looked dumbfounded, and Adam originally thought it was for effect, except that Wilbur's expression didn't change. He was obviously waiting for the other boy to continue, and when Adam failed to do so, Wilbur attempted to prod him along.
"Why would they?"
"Well, just- you know-"
"No." Wilbur shook his head. "I don't know."
"They make fun of everybody."
The Robinson boy wrinkled his nose and looked over Adam's shoulder toward the kids in question, before returning his gaze to the other teen.
"They're no better than us. Why let them think they are?"
"Because most of us care what others think about us?"
This was a foreign concept to the youngest of the Robinson family, and he stared at the other boy as if he'd grown another head.
For as long as he could remember, Wilbur had always been encouraged to be his own person. No interest was unimportant, no question too silly to ask. Everyone had their own interests and talents and that's what made them unique. It's what made you, you.
"Well...you shouldn't."
It was as easy as that to him, and as the bell rang and the students moved out of the room in a herd, Adam resigned himself to the fact that for as smart as his friend was, this was a subject he would never comprehend.
"Have fun at the conference."
Robinson shouldered his backpack, clicking his tongue as he made a sarcastic gesture with his hands. "And you have fun at that pep rally!"
The two parted ways, waving a quick goodbye as Wilbur pushed the doors of the main entrance open and left the building. Adam shook his head as he headed for the band room for his instrument.
"I have the weirdest friend in the world."
