Day 10: Notes

"I'll see you guys at practice, alright?" Kendall told his three best friends, who nodded. The four boys headed their separate ways towards their lockers anxiously.

All four were afraid to find what had been put in their locker this time. The four boys had recently been receiving notes with cruel insults typed onto them, but none of them had told each other yet. They all thought they were the only ones receiving the notes.

Today, James's note said, "Hey, airhead. What kind of makeup are you putting on today, pretty boy?"

Kendall's said: "Hey, stubborn hockey head. You're just a dumb jock who doesn't know anything else."

Logan's read: "What's up, nerd? Cramming the books tonight instead of going out to party? Oh, wait. You never even get invited to parties."

Carlos's read: "Hello, retard. How many people did you annoy today with your constant stupidity and your obnoxious voice?"

All four of the boys didn't feel like going to practice that day, but they still went anyway for fear of the other three asking about why they had ditched.

Hockey practice was rough; the four boys, who usually were at the top of their team, sucked. They fell and bumped into each other and missed easy shots. The coach yelled at them, but even he could tell that something was going on.

"Wow, that was one of the hardest practices in my life." Logan groaned as he packed up his stuff. Kendall and James nodded in agreement.

"Yeah... C-can I tell you guys something?" Carlos began, the words from the note making him feel rotten and stupid.

Kendall nodded. "Yeah, what's up?"

Carlos looked down and fiddled with his fingers. "I-I... I just keep on getting these notes whenever I open my locker... and-"

"Wait." James stopped him. "Like, typed notes?" Carlos nodded. "I get those too."

"Me too." Logan added. They all looked at Kendall expectantly. He just nodded.

"Are they, like, insulting notes?" James asked cautiously. The other three nodded.

"Yeah, mine called me a nerd. And... and it said I'm never invited to parties." Logan muttered sadly. Kendall wrapped an arm around him.

"Well, that is completely wrong. You are smart, yes, but you are not unpopular. You get invited to plenty of parties. The nerds and the cool kids like you." He assured Logan, who smiled at him.

"What about yours, Carlos?" James asked worriedly. Carlos was the most sensitive one out of all of them; he would surely take the words to heart.

Carlos looked down. "I-It said..." He couldn't finished, but instead handed the note to James after retrieving it from his backpack. The other three read it.

James sighed, ripping the note into two pieces. "This is in no way true, buddy. You don't annoy us, and everyone else likes you for being you too. And you're not stupid; you can be a real genius." James reassured his younger friend.

Carlos grinned. "Really?"

"Yep."

"What about your note, James?" Kendall asked, knowing that James hated admitting weakness.

James sighed. "They said I was a pretty boy and an airhead." He admitted quietly, not meeting any of his friend's eyes.

"That's not true! You're not just pretty; you're also charming and nice and protective and kind and caring." Carlos listed, beaming when James looked happier.

"You're pretty on the outside and the inside, James." Kendall assured him. The other two boys nodded along.

Kendall packed the rest of his things up, pulling his bag up over his shoulders. "Wait." Logan commanded.

"What?"

"Don't be stupid. What about your note?" Logan asked firmly.

Kendall shrugged. "Guys, it's fine. I don't care about what some idiot said about me."

James shook his head. "You're lying. Tell us. We're friends, remember?"

"Fine. I'm a dumb jock and all I can do is hockey." Kendall muttered so fast the others almost didn't catch it.

Logan gasped. "That is the most inaccurate thing I have ever heard!"

"Yeah! You're not only beast at hockey, you're also a good leader and pretty average when it comes to intelligence." James added.

"Yeah! You always give us these awesome motivational speeches and they help us win hockey games and other stuff." Carlos pointed out.

Kendall smiled a little. "You're right, guys. Thanks." He started to head out, the other three following suit. "Whatever that guy or girl said was wrong. They don't know anything about us; they can't judge us. We can't ever let anyone's words hurt us like that again."

James nodded. "No matter what, we know we're awesome and that's all the matters, right?"

"Right." Logan and Carlos agreed. The stuck their hands together and threw them up into the air, cheering.

The next day and all the days after that, no note ever showed up in the boys' lockers again.