Forum Thread

Not sure where this fits as it's not based on anything. Well, it's based on my life with different names but whatever.

This is a work in progress. Do NOT under any circumstances post on here. If you want to say something or ask a question, post here. I will try to update as I write more.

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Define: Me

Dear Evan Hansen,
Today is going to be an amazing day and here’s why.

Those are the words that greet me as I wake up in the morning. I purchased an audiobook for Dear Evan Hansen a couple of months ago, and, despite my hesitancy before I bought it, it was worth it. This is about my 3rd or so time listening to Ben Levi Ross read me the modern-day Mozart of a book, and it still makes me fall in love with it. That kind of book always does, the ones about a teenager dealing with the struggles of life, no matter what the actual plot is. Whether it be a book about 2 people with the same name, one dating a fat guy named Tiny and the other being friends with the fat guy, or in this case, one about a guy that’s caught up in a lie about being best friends with a guy who killed himself and trying to get away with it, only making things worse for himself. Maybe it’s a little sadistic, but everyone has their own preferences.

I shut off my smart speaker and head downstairs for something to eat. No one is awake yet, as it is 5:37 AM. I make coffee for my Dad and Stepmom, as I usually do, and head out the door with a half-eaten bagel in my mouth. I don’t usually drink coffee, not because I don’t like it, but because my parents don’t usually let me have any. People say that’s why I’m taller than most people, but I know otherwise. Doctors have done research showing that coffee does not stunt your growth. All it does is give you anxiety from the caffeine, but other than that it’s not super bad for you. You can always tell who drinks coffee and for how long. Those who have been drinking it for years have slightly yellower teeth than those who haven’t, and those who have been drinking coffee for a while are less anxious than those who only started recently. My teacher, Damien Canton, or, Chief, as we call him, is one of those people.

I walk up to the ROTC room and sit down on the bench. I’m early, as usual, so I pull out a book and begin reading. I’m one of those people who can be in the middle of 5 different books and still be able to read different ones. “Why don’t you just finish one and then move on to another?” people will ask me. Truthfully, I don’t know. Sometimes I just am not in the mood for that certain book at that certain time. It definitely is helpful when I finish one book, as instead of having to wait to go to the library with nothing to read, I can just pick up where I left off on one book and read that. On rare occasions, when I finish all my books and still have to wait to go to the library, I do what any other teenage boy would do. Sit down and pout. The cold, crisp morning air bites my cheeks and I pull my hood close more, only leaving enough room for my eyes to see my book.

I hear the jingle of keys and collect my belongings quickly, ready to get out of the cold. Only, when I stand up, it’s not Chief, it’s my classmate, Mathen. The keys were actually for his bike, which he walks beside on his way up the drive. He walks past me and I follow suit, as per our usual routine. He brings his bike to the bike rack and I follow behind him. We usually talk about video games and girls, specifically Olive Alayne, who is probably both the hottest and most annoying girl at our school. I’m not one to gossip, but when I’m with Mathen, she always seems to come up. See, she’s his ex-girlfriend, left him for a senior whose probably as tall as the friendly green giant. Mathen has even made his own names up for her as he doesn’t want to be a complete a-hole. I can’t remember most of them, but I do remember one. Tree Knot. Never could understand what he meant by that until recently. He told me because he said I was his friend and he knew I would never tell anyone. Interesting word choice. Friend. See, my policy on friends is that they are someone you can talk to about anything. Someone you trust and they trust you back. Someone you can be around and they would never judge you no matter what. Someone that matters. Apparently Mathen has really bad taste in friends.

As we head back to the classroom, I see the door cracked open and light pouring out. I run to the door, ready to start the day. I swing it open and run straight into a brick wall. Or, at least it felt like a brick wall. It’s just Gordan. “Watch where you’re going dude,” he warns. I apologize as people flow around me like water flowing around an inconveniently placed rock. That’s me. The rock that just stands in everyone’s way as they flow through this river of life. “FALL IN,” I hear the commander yell. I take my spot in flight.

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