Corey Silvers looked over at the gaggle of girls beside the football field and couldn't help but feel annoyed. 'What did they see in those assholes?'
Corey had never held respect for the football players. He didn't think he ever would, either. In his mind, it was never okay to torment others for any reason. Corey had once saved David Leeber, the school's biggest fag, from the football team's plan of dunking him head first in the men's room toilets; that was the day that Corey decided he was never going to be able to have respect for any of them.
Corey walked into the school and was instantly greeted by several guys and girls, none of whom he was friends with. Since the premiere of "Empty Spaces" Corey had found himself turned into a celebrity, quite unwillingly. He loved acting, but he couldn't stand the fakeness of it. He knew that if it weren't for the show, most of these people wouldn't be talking to him, let alone trying to be friends with him. Through the crowd of faces, Corey saw the one person at the school that he genuinely liked.
Lauren Greenwood had been Corey's best friend since preschool, when she had decided that she was going to have him as her boyfriend whatever the cost. After a few unsuccessful tries to woo him by drawing pictures of them kissing with her crayons, she realized that four was perhaps too early an age to have a boyfriend, and she became content being just friends. They clicked instantly, and had been friends ever since.
As Corey fought his way through the crowded hallway towards Lauren, he noticed her laughing. "Okay, this is NOT funny; I can't even go to the bathroom without having an escort. seriously, stop laughing!"
Lauren grinned, showing her perfect teeth. Having parents who were both dentists gives you that advantage. "Corey, I can't help it, honestly you'd laugh too if you saw the way these lemmings idolized you!" When Corey didn't smile, she just said "Fine, I'll stop, but what's with the attitude? I remember a time back when I thought you might finally grow a sense of humour--obviously some greater power decided giving you pecs and a bubble butt was more important."
This time Corey did smile. "Well, it's a pretty nice butt...I'm just saying." He laughed a bit, but it was fleeting, and his scowl returned after only a moment. "I'm just annoyed, like I don't understand the girls that go to our school. Do you swoon when you see a guy on the football team? You'd think they had just been voted the sexiest men alive or something, and even then; I don't think Tom Hardy could bring this much contented sighing."
Lauren gave him a look. "Clearly I don't, I have almost as little respect for them as I do for the girls who follow them. But what's this about, are you a little jealous that you're not getting all the attention?" Lauren saw the face Corey made when she said that and added "okay, I was kidding, but seriously, why do you care? Like honestly, we have a little bit less than a year left with these people before we're off to school, you shouldn't let it bother you so much."
Corey sighed and nodded his head. Both of them had written their ACT's earlier that year, Corey while he was on set in California, and they had both been granted early acceptance to schools in the states. Lauren was off to the Fashion Institute of Design and Technology, while Corey was planning on going to UCLA--both of them were heading to Los Angeles. Next fall they would be enjoying the sunshine and snow-free landscape of Cali together. Neither of them could wait to get away either.
"Listen, I know I shouldn't let it bother me, but I just can't get my head around it. Why is it that guys like Travis Keeler and Josh Woodman, both of whom have the equivalent of half a brain cell on a good day, and who both decide it's fun to dunk people's heads in toilets, have this rally of girls around them all day who are just dying to spread their legs for them? Like what is wrong with the world? But what bothers me more than all of that is Seth Johnson. He is the worst of them, he may not join in when they're picking on the gay guys like David, or the geeks, or the not-so pretty girls, but he stands by and lets it happen. That's a million times worse. There is no excuse for that. How is it that every girl, well, all of them except for you, wants to sleep with someone who has no backbone? He has no courage to stand up for what's right, and that's what pisses me the fuck off. People like Seth Johnson are the worst people in the world. They see Evil being done and they do nothing about it!"
Lauren looked at the expression on Corey's face and couldn't help but laugh. "Wow, so tell me how you really feel!...are you getting ready for a protest? Will there be signs, and chants, and petitions forcing people to act if they see something that's morally wrong? Michaela Church's makeup is morally wrong, should I start putting up posters about the evils of too much cover-up? Seriously, lighten up, you're starting to get me down, and that should be impossible now that we're in the grad class--and in the running for valedictorian! Come on, the bell just rang, let's get to law class or we're going to get written up!"
Corey loved foundations of law. He knew that he wanted to be either a lawyer, or have something to do with politics--if ever acting didn't work out. He and Lauren were both in that class, and they both enjoyed it. Lauren's step-dad would always help them out if they had any questions. Owning a multi-billion dollar business, he had learned a lot about business law, and he also had had a Premier as his great-uncle, so he knew a lot about politics too. It was quite an advantage for them, as they had never had a grade below an A before.
Apart from them, the only one in that class to get an A-grade was Kristina McCluskey--the quietest girl in school. She was in competition with Corey, Lauren, Seth Johnson, and Julie Campbell for Valedictorian of their year. She was a nice girl, but kept mostly to herself. She spent most of her time doing homework and studying for her classes. She wasn't very naturally gifted like the others were, but she made up for it in the hours of work she spent on her coursework.
At lunch the two sat together in the cafeteria, talking about their morning classes, laughing about how Mr. Montag had fallen asleep today in the middle of his lecture. "I don't know why he doesn't just retire," Lauren wondered, "he's been teaching here for almost 40 years. He has to have enough money by now, and judging by the way he yells and screams most of us, it's not because he enjoys it. It's probably more because he wouldn't know what to do with himself if he retired."
Corey laughed. "Seriously, he is one of the most miserable teachers I've ever had. Like, he clearly does know what he's talking about, but he's just unpleasant." They continued talking for awhile, and when they heard the bell ring signalling their next class was about to start again, they got up and headed for their lockers.
As they were walking down the hallway, Corey remembered something he had meant to tell Lauren earlier. "So, do you remember me telling you that Kyle called? Well, I finally got the courage to call him back to see what he wanted...you'll never guess what it is!"
