The second chapter, yey! This is where the AU really gets in, but there will still be canon events mixed with it. This is one of the chapters I had the most fun writing, so I hope you also find it funny!
"Chandler, dear, come on, you're going to be late for your first day at the new school!" Chandler's mother yelled from downstairs.
Chandler groaned to himself while adjusting the collar of his shirt in front of the mirror. Why couldn't his mother choose to settle on Long Island a few months before? Now, he was gonna be the new boy who didn't know anyone at school. What a great way to start the new year.
Taking one last look at himself, the boy closed the door and headed downstairs to meet his mother. He just wanted to be like the average high school student and take the bus to school, but his mother had insisted on driving him since it was his first day. He just hoped no one would see and recognize him. It was already embarrassing enough to be the new student.
The car ride was as silent as he managed, with grunt responses to his mother's occasional questions. Finally, she stopped the car in the driveway near the school building. But before he could get out, she stopped him while searching for something in her bag. When he saw the blue-cover book in his mother's hands, Chandler wished he could just disappear into a hole.
"This is for you," She said, handing him the book. "I know you might struggle a little with the girls, so I thought it might help," his mother finished with a wink.
"Uhh…, Thanks, mom, but I think you should keep it. I don't think I have space in my backpack for another book," Chandler said nervously, trying to come up with an excuse to not have to carry the book around on his first day of school.
His mother made a face, knowing he was lying, but stored the book in her purse.
"Fine, but at least give your mother a goodbye kiss," she said. He didn't want to, but his mother pulled him to her and gave him a loud and wet kiss on his cheek before allowing him to get out of the car.
"Have fun, sweety!" His mother waved as he entered the building.
Despite his early morning embarrassment by his mother, the rest of the morning went fine. By lunchtime, Chandler was walking around the cafeteria with the food tray in his hands when he spotted a blonde guy that looked familiar from one of his previous classes.
"Excuse me, can I sit here?" He asked. The boy looked at him, trying to figure out if he knew him.
"Oh, you're the new guy. Sure."
"The new guy..." Chandler murmured. "Why is it that the new persons are named the new guy, but the other ones don't get named the old guy?" He asked, forgetting to filter his thoughts before speaking.
Everyone at the table looked at him like he had asked the strangest question. Did they seriously not get his joke? Did they lack any sense of humour?
"Yeah, I'm the new guy, Chandler," he opted to answer, although in a disappointed tone.
Fortunately, the guys at the table seemed to have forgotten about his failed joke after they introduced themselves.
"So, what do you like to do? Do you skate?" The blonde guy, Luke, asked him.
"Errr… I never tried it, so I don't know if I like it," Chandler answered.
"Then, why don't you come skating with us tomorrow after school?" Luke suggested.
Chandler knew that physical activities were not his strong point. However, he needed to make new friends, so he accepted their invitation. Maybe skating wasn't as hard as it looked.
The next day, Chandler had lunch with Luke again, and when classes finished for the day, the boys met at the school entrance, each with a skateboard in his hand.
"Brough one for you," Luke said, showing Chandler the spare skateboard under his shoulders.
"Oh, good, because I was ready to skate on my imaginary skateboard," Chandler remarked sarcastically. But once again, none of the boys seemed to find his joke funny.
They finally reached the skate park, and immediately, the boys jumped onto their skateboards. Chandler watched in amazement the tricks they could perform and how easily they slid down and up the concrete obstacles. He couldn't skate as smoothly as them, but stepping onto the board would be a good start.
Chandler did as he thought and stepped onto the skateboard. However, as soon as he was on top of it, he lost all his balance, trying clumsily to stay still. Yup, it was not as easy as it looked. But the worst part was that one of the other boys saw him struggling.
"Dude, try it like that!" The boy suggested while showing him how to properly stand on the skateboard.
He did as the boy had shown him and, to his surprise, he managed to stand up. Once he got the hang of it, he dared to take his new skill further and took a few turns around the flat part of the precinct.
"Hey, see, you can do it!" Luke called him from a few steps away.
Still basking in his achievement, Chandler looked at Luke and smiled, not bothering to control his movements like he had been doing that far. And in those few seconds, he didn't notice that he was sliding toward one of the slops. Before he had time to figure out what was happening, he lost his balance and was pushed out of the skateboard directly to the concrete floor.
He tried to get up but felt a sharp pain in his arm as soon as he attempted to do it. If his arm was not broken, it would certainly be sore for a few days. Chandler had expected something like that to happen. Things had never gone good for him; why would this be different? He lifted the sleeve to take a look. He was going to have a hard time explaining to his mother how he'd bruised his arm without further embarrassing himself.
Chandler had only been three days at the new school, and he had already managed to show up with a cast on his arm. Guess he wouldn't be skating for a few weeks. Or try any other activity that required physical effort, although Chandler suspected that wouldn't be only for a few weeks. And even if he thought that maybe he didn't have anything in common with Luke other than skating, Luke was Chandler's only possible friend, so Chandler still sat with him at lunch.
The next day was exactly the same. However, Chandler soon realized that he hadn't indeed anything in common with the rest of the boys. Perhaps he should start looking for another afterschool activity. One where he knew he would fit in. So, Thursday afternoon, Chandler decided to check on the school clubs. He studied the sheet attached to the noticeboard before one name caught his attention: Chess club. It sounded good to him. It wouldn't require any physical activity, and plus, he could play with only one hand. He signed his name on the blank line and then went home.
The last day of the week arrived. Chandler hated Fridays because all his classes were boring, and he could not wait for the weekend. That Friday was no exception. When the bell rang to signal that the last lesson of that morning was over, Chandler grabbed his stuff, ready to go have lunch. But before we could leave the classroom, one of his colleagues with whom he had the other day lunch approached him.
"Hey! I saw that you signed for the chess club," He said.
Chandler sensed the conversation wouldn't end well, so he nodded in confirmation.
"Yeah. We don't like nerds, and the chess club is for nerds. So, we can't be your friends. Besides, you tell some weird jokes. So, bye, find some new nerd friends."
Chandler stood disappointed for a second. It was just like the old school, where he had no friends. Why had he gotten his hopes up regarding the skater boys? Crestfallen, Chandler walked around the cafeteria, looking for somewhere empty to sit. Suddenly, he noticed a table with one vacant spot near a boy with afro hair. He recognized the boy as one of his classmates.
"Hey, can I sit here?"
The boy looked up as if he was surprised to have someone asking if they could sit with him. Then, he nodded.
"I'm Chandler, the new guy, in case you don't remember," Chandler introduced himself.
"I'm Ross," the boy said back. "I remember you, so I don't think you are that new anymore," Ross added with a chuckle.
Chandler noted his attempt at a joke and smiled to himself. Maybe Ross would be a better company than Luke.