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It’s cold outside this early in the morning and all Daniel wants is to be at home,not at this god forsaken highschool.
Daniel is your average 16 year old who is considered by his friends chill yet tough. They are hanging outside in front of the aforementioned school waiting until the bell rings.
When the bell does ring Daniel fist bumps his friends before heading towards math class. When the final bell rings Daniel sits down and Mr.Klein speaks.
“All right class is staring, quiet down and let’s begin.”
Daniel takes out a notepad from his backpack and starts to draw a skull. A few minutes pass when the teacher snaches the notepad under Daniel’s hand and holds it up.
“Everyone look over here. This” Mr. Klein points to the notepad, “This is what someone with no intentions to learn does-they draw. But where will this get him” he pauses “nowhere. Businesses are not looking for artist with no knowledge.” Mr.Klein looks at Daniel and hands back the notepad. “Please go to the councillors office and tell them why you are there.”
Daniel packs his stuff and stands up and walks to the door, but stops when he hears his teacher’s voice.
“Don’t think about not going cause I will check.”
Daniel doesn’t respond and continues to have his back facing his teacher then leaves the class turning left and walks down the hall. As Daniel makes his way to the councillors office he passes other classes, once he passes an english class Danile looks inside and looks at a girl with her head down but continues walking.
We are introduced to Ava who is your sensitive yet strong 16 year old. Ava is sitting at her desk as her teacher walks around speaking about a chapter. Ava starts writing down notes when her friend Olivia leans forward from the seat behind Ava and whispers
“Hey did you see this?”
Olivia shows Ava a picture of a bathroom stall.
Ava looks at picture but has a confused look on her face and asks “What?”
“At the bottom. It’s a guy and a girl. She’s on her knees.”
“Oh my god. Does it say who are the couple?”
“Some people are saying it’s a guy from the football team but nobody is saying who the girl might be. I mean we can see her shoes and but that’s about it.”
Ava hears faint whispers and laughter and looks up to see people pointing at her direction. Ava looks closely at the picture and sees that the girl in the picture and Ava have the same pair of shoes.
Once catches on that she doesn’t have all the kids attention she says, “Come on everyone put your phones away or I will take them.”
All the students listen and Ava looks down at her notes.
Ava is the first to leave the classroom when the bell rings and goes down the stairs that are in front of her class. Olivia tries to catch up to her.
“Ava, hold up.”
Ava goes down the stairs and once she’s on the first floor, she bumps into Daniel.
“Sorry”
Ava continues to walk and so does Daniel.
Daniel walks down the hallway and turns a corner and goes into a classroom and sits down with his friends.
“Hey.”
Todd is the first to ask Daniel how he is.
“Dude,you good?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Jeff points out why Todd asked him.
“You got a weird look going on.”
“I’m good.”
Teacher walks in.
“As soon as the bell rings we will get started.”
Students leave the class before the boys do.
Jeff and Todd are looking at Todds phone and Daniel is behind them.
Jeff asks, “Who took the photo?”
Todd responds with, “Don’t know but everybody has it on their dash.”
“Did they say which bathroom is it?”
“No,why?”
“Cause maybe she’ll be outside waiting for another round.”
“Gross.”
Both boys turn around while laughing and see that Daniel is at least four steps behind them. The boys stop and wait until Daniel catches up to them.
Todd is the first to ask, “You good,bro?”
“Yeah”
“You sure?”
“Let’s go get food.”
Daniel opens the door and they walk outside.
Ava is hiding underneath some stairs outside. Olivia is heard screaming Ava's name. When Ava hears Olivia close by she says
“I’m under here.”
“I was calling your phone,why didn’t you answer?”
“You know the picture you showed me in first?”
“Yeah”
“Can you show it to me again?”
“Okay”
Olivia gets her phone and looks for the picture. Once she finds it, Olivia hands the phone to Ava.
“Here” Olivia waits a second before asking “What’s going on?”
“Look at the girls shoes.”
“Okay.” Olivia looks at the picture and then back at Ava “And?”
“Now look at mine.”
Olivia looks at Avas shoes, “But that’s not you.”
“I know. But that won’t stop people from thinking it was me. Cause in first period the others saw me and they assumed it was me cause I was the first person they saw with the same pair of shoes. And who knows who else they have told. The whole school probably knows by now.”
“But a lot of people have the same pair. Not everyone can be that stupid to believe that nobody else has the same pair of shoes. It’ll be fucking messed up if they do though.”
“I know.”
“What’re you gonna do? Are you gonna stop wearing them?”
Ava giggles then starts to full-on laugh.
Olivia chuckles “What?”
Ava continues to laugh then sighed, “I can’t believe we are having this conversation. A conversation about not wearing a pair of shoes. Fucking high school.”
Daniel is at the dining room table with his Mother & Father.
Dad is the first to break the silence “So we got a call from your school,today, Daniel. Care to tell us why you are not focusing on graduating?”
“Not really.”
Mom gets mad and says “Excuse me? What did you say?”
“I’m sorry. It’s just… I’m an artist. I can draw and the stuff that they teach us, it’s not exactly useful. I want to go to art school and I don’t think that learning about who won the war will help me become a better artist.”
Dad looks at Daniel for a couple of seconds then speaks “Okay. Some of the stuff you said might be true but art schools do care about - not just how good of an artist you are - but your grades. So if you don’t put effort into passing then art school will not be a choice.
Ava is in bed at her home and she is looking down at her phone when her mother knocks and comes into Ava’s room.
“Hey”
Ava continues to look at phone “Hey.”
Mom walks toward Ava’s bed “You okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“What’s going on?”
Ava hands her mother the phone. Mother looks at it,then her eyes widen and quickly responds.
“Please-”
“It’s not.”
“But people at school think it is?”
Ava leans back to her bed frame. Mom sits down next Ava on the bed.
“What do you wanna do? Whatever it is I’ll support you.”
“Even if I say we should move to a place where the internet is not even a word.”
“Yes. But why move, when you can show them that even though they think it’s you, you know that it’s not and that you don’t care what they think.”
“Easier said than done.”
“True,but your strong. Remember whatever you do I’ll support you.”
Ava doesn’t answer her mother.
Daniel is walking with his friends. They walk in silence until Jeff asks “You better now,bro?”
“Yeah, and sorry,just school.”
Todd says “Enough said. Come one let’s go.”
As they walk they pass Ava meeting up with Olivia.
“Hey”
“Hey”
“You feel better?”
“Not right now but I think I’ll get there.”
Olivia looks down at Ava’s feet and see’s that Ava has a different pair of shoes on.
“I thought you weren’t gonna give in?”
“I’m not”
“I see different”
“You and I both know that that’s not me and if wearing different shoes makes people think it is then fine. Cause I can take it but what if the real girl can’t. I’d rather have small minded people think it is me than a girl who gets easily hurt by the words of a stranger and take them to heart because they let rumors define who they are. Unlike them though this rumor will not define me.”
“You’re awesome”
“Thank you”
Bell rings.
“Come on,let’s go. Let them see your new shoes.”
“OKay”
“By the way, will you let me wear them? They look cool.”
“Definitely”
Daniel enters his first period class. As he enters the teacher calls him.
“Daniel can you come here, please?”
“Yes?”
“Will you be drawing today or will you pay attention to the lesson?”
“I will be paying attention. Is that all?”
“Almost. Daniel, you’re an excellent artist but maybe you should do it when you’re not in class so you can pass and be able to attend Art school.”
“Did you speak to my father?”
“No”
“Okay. Well I promise I won’t draw in class anymore if you promise not to embarrass me in front of the class when I need help.”
“I promise and I’m sorry about yesterday I was trying to teach you a lesson.”
“Aren’t you always.”
Both Mr.Klein and Daniel smile and Daniel walks to his seat and the final bell rings.
“Let’s get started.”