Matthew Jessup was NOT a normal boy. He was, in fact, as abnormal as it is possible to be. He appeared mostly normal, but was slightly…off. He had blond hair, green eyes, and glasses. He normally wore a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. At the moment he lived in Italy.
His mannerisms were anything but normal. He often spouted random phrases for no apparent reason, he could change his voice extremely well, and never seemed to pay attention in class. He was always tapping away at an Alphasmart, which is basically a keyboard with a screen.
Most of the other kids thought he was stupid because he talked to himself. The kids always said things like "I DON'T CARE!" or "YOU SUCK!" whenever he talked. He tried not to let this bother him, because the insults were so unimaginative that they weren't worth getting angry over.
The kids were wrong. He didn't suck, he wasn't stupid, and someone cared about him very much. Matthew Jessup was a genius. He knew this, but he didn't boast about it. He just wanted to be liked.
He wasn't well liked because of one simple reason: He wouldn't give up his originality to the commercialized hell that is Society.
He did have a few friends. Michael Taylor, for one. Michael was extremely similar to Matthew. They shared the same interests, tastes, and mannerisms. In other words, they were the best friends that the school had ever seen.
At this very moment, they were late for class. Matthew had an excuse: he had fallen down the stairs. Matthew fell down many times a week. It was natural to him, because he had extremely poor motor skills. Michael was escorting Matthew back to class. The nurse had seen Matthew fall, and the teacher had sent Michael to walk with Matthew to class.
Matthew and Michael made it to class, laughing about a comment Matt had made about some guy burning his hand.
"Wail HELP!" Matthew said, in a redneck accent which was quite different from his smooth English accent he normally had.
"Mah HAYUND is BURNIN'!" he said. Michael burst out laughing.
They entered the classroom, still grinning, and sat down in their seats.