atusilu

Karl wasn’t particularly excited to wake up on any day, let alone on the first day of senior year at a new high school. It was 6am, he had stayed up until nearly 2am playing video games with his friends from back in North Carolina, so he prepared himself to run on 4 hours of sleep. He was woken up by the sun seeping through his curtains, shining a thin line of blinding light right over his eyes. He mumbled to himself, mainly angry about needing to wake up before noon, but got up and out of bed anyways.

“Karl, honey, I made you breakfast!” His mom said from outside the door. He hummed in response and went downstairs to eat. Waffles weren’t his first choice, but he wasn’t complaining. “Are you excited?” She asked gleefully. He nodded, still not talking, and planted a fake smile on his face. He wasn’t excited, in fact, he was dreading going to school. Luckily though, it wasn’t super hot, so he could wear something comfy and get away with it, which would certainly help him get through the day. “What are you going to wear?” She continued. He just shrugged, trying to remember what he had clean in his closet.

“I don’t know, but I’m gonna go get dressed,” he replied. His mother smiled and shooed him out of the dining room, clearly excited for him to go to school. He got up and walked back into his room, which was now filled with light from his window. He debated just throwing on something random, but he decided he wanted to look nice, make a good impression. He looked through his closet before his eyes landed on his favorite sweater, it was a deep purple with a dark cyan swirl in the middle. Grabbing it, he walked to his dresser and grabbed a pair of blank jeans with a few holes in them. He didn’t normally dress up, but then again he didn’t normally go anywhere or do anything, so there was no need. He changed into his new outfit and looked himself up and down in the mirror. He grabbed his bag, phone, and a few rings before heading back to the kitchen.

“You look nice,” his mom said. He smiled and gave her a hug before walking out the door and hopping into his car. Not all people his age had their own car, and his certainly wasn’t the most fancy one in the world, but he worked his ass off to afford it so it was perfect for him. The drive to school was short, and he accidentally ended up being nearly 20 minutes early, but it didn’t phase him. He needed some time to figure out where his classes were anyways. As he walked up to the large building he noticed groups of friends standing around outside.

“Hello! Would you like a school paper?” A girl at the front door asked while greeting him. He smiled and politely shook his head, even though it probably would have been good for him to get to know people. The inside foyer of the school was empty, with only a few benches and a door to the front office. He walked in, assuming it was where he would get his schedule, and was greeted by a few women at their desks.

“Hi! Are you new?” One asked.

“Uh, yeah, I’m here for my schedule?” He asked. Another nodded and got up from her seat holding a small slip of paper.

“Here, head to room 101, that’s where the student council is held. One of them is assigned to show you around, they will help you for the next few days,” she said. He nodded and grabbed the slip of paper that was filled with various numbers and names. He flipped it over and saw a small map of the school, and noticed 101 was just down the first hall, so he made his way there. There was a loud crash from inside the room as Karl put his hand on the doorknob, making him hesitate a bit before opening it. It was too late now though, because the door swung open after someone inside saw him standing there, and the entire room froze.

“Um, hi?” He said. The boy who opened the door looked him up and down a few times.

“Hey! I like your shoes, are you Karl? I’m supposed to give someone named Karl a tour today,” he said back, practically just thinking out loud. Karl nodded and the boy smiled wide, holding out his hand.

“I’m George, head of the student council, do you have your schedule?” He asked. He handed him the now slightly crinkled paper and waited for him to read. George looked back up with a grin on his face.

“You’ve got classes with some of my friends!” He said warmly. Karl smiled back and allowed George to start leading the way, showing him each class.

“Okay, we’re gonna walk your schedule and I’ll tell you about your classes and general things about the school. Technically that’s all we’re supposed to do, but the tour allows us to be late to 1st hour so we can take our time,” George said. Karl laughed and nodded as the two walked to Karl’s first class.

“Okay, so you have physics 1st which sucks, but you’re with my friend Nick, we call him Sapnap, in this class, so hopefully it’s not too unbearable,” Karl listened politely and followed along. He was happy that George was so nice to him, even though he didn’t know if he had to because he was his tour guide. Maybe they could be friends.

“Alright and your next 3 classes are on the other side of the building,” George continued.

By the time they were done with the short tour, 1st hour was already halfway done.

“Well I’ll be seeing you okay? Come find me at lunch if you don’t have anyone to sit with, I’m sure you’ll get along great with my friends!” George said as he walked away from Karl, leaving him in the middle of the hallway alone. Karl smiled and walked to his physics class.

As he opened the door he was met with roughly 20 heads turned to him, eyes locked with his. The teacher pointed at an empty desk near the back of the class, not saying anything. Karl looked down and walked quickly to the seat, making a mental note of what George had said earlier. He wanted to find Nick, or Sapnap, because he was in 3 of Karl’s classes. The teacher continued her lesson that he had clearly interrupted, and he quietly pulled out his notebook to follow along.

“Psst!” He heard from next to him. Karl looked to his left and saw a guy looking at him, trying to get his attention. Karl pointed at himself, silently asking if he was the one the boy was trying to get the attention of.

“Yeah, you, I saw you with my friend George, are you new?” He asked. Karl nodded and the boy smiled.

“I’m Nick, my friends call me Sapnap,” he said softly. Karl smiled, happy that he had found who he was looking for so fast. “Well hello Nick,” he whispered. Sapnap scowled and shook his head. “Please, call me Sapnap, I hate being called Nick,” he whispered. Karl mentally cringed, thinking he had already messed up his first interaction. Sapnap noticed and chuckled lightly, turning back to the front board. The class only had 15 minutes left, so Karl decided to tune out whatever lesson he was supposed to be listening to. Time went by fast, considering it felt like only minutes before he was snapped out of his daze by the sound of the bell.

“You alive over there?” Sapnap said. This was the first time Karl was actually able to hear his voice that wasn’t a whisper, he liked it.

“Yeah, I’m good, just tired out of my mind,” He mumbled. Sapnap laughed and grabbed his bag, clearly waiting for Karl to join him.

“Hurry up or I’m leaving you here!” He shouted from the doorframe. Karl quickly picked up his things and sped walked to Sapnap.

“So, what’s your next class?” He asked. Karl grabbed his schedule and looked for his 2nd hour.

“Um, looks like it’s computer science,” he replied. Sapnap’s smile grew and he sped up, already knowing where to go. “Dream’s in that class! God, you really are about to know my whole friend group huh?” He shouted. Karl matched Sapnap’s quick pace, trying desperately to catch up with him. “Dream?” He questioned. It was an odd name, anyone could see that, but clearly that was a thing around here.

“Oh, yeah, his real name’s Clay but don’t call him that unless you wanna get punched,” he replied jokingly. Karl laughed and they two arrived to the classroom.

“Normally I meet Dream here after class, so it looks like I’ll see you soon,” Sapnap said warmly. Karl nodded and turned to walk inside, only to be met by a tall figure standing in front of him.

“Who are you?” He said. Karl looked up at the boy, who was at least a few inches taller than him. “I’m Karl!” He replied happily. His previous wave of tiredness was drowned out with the excitement of making new friends, so his cheerful demeanor rang through the taller’s ears.

“Oh, I’m Dream, I saw you talking to Sapnap, are you two friends?” He asked. Karl hesitated before asking, he wasn’t sure if he considered Sapnap a friend. Sure, he was nice and friendly, but they literally met like 30 minutes ago.

“Uh, I mean I guess so? I just met him last class though,” he replied quietly. Dream smiled and nodded, turning back to sit down in a chair. This classroom was much bigger, with each desk being occupied with a computer setup. The bell rang and the teacher dove into a lesson that was clearly being continued from a previous day, Karl had absolutely no idea what was happening. When he woke up that morning he thought he would be able to run fine on 4 hours of sleep, but it had only been 2 hours and he already was drained. The temporary relief from his tiredness from Sapnap’s friendly attitude was quickly wearing off, and Karl could feel himself wanting to doze off.

“Go ahead and take a nap, you look like you’re about to die,” Dream said from behind him. He didn’t necessarily need permission, but the reassurance was enough to let him get in a quick power nap.

Similar to his last class, he was woken up by the bell and someone tapping his shoulder. He opened his eyes slowly to see Sapnap’s face right in front of him.

“How-” Karl started to question, wondering how it was possible Sapnap had gotten there so fast. Sapnap shushed him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him up from his seat, sending a shock wave through his body. Grabbing his backpack, he walked side by side with Sapnap, who was next to him and Dream. To any outsider, they would look like a normal friend group who had known each other since middle school.

“Dream!” He heard a familiar voice shout behind him. The 3 turned their heads to see George behind them, holding a poster board and at least 7 bottles of glitter glue.

“Hey Georgie!” He replied happily. Karl quietly listened to the two of them talk, Sapnap on his phone doing the same, it seemed like he was used to this sort of thing.

“Oh, Karl! What class do you have next, I don’t remember,” George said, turning to him.

“I think I have my study hall now, I’m not sure though,” he replied. George smiled and started laughing, directing the group to walk with him.

“Well, isn’t that convenient?” He said sneakily. Karl planted a confused look on his face, clearly waiting for George to continue, only to be met with silence.

“It just so happens that the 3 of us also have a study hall as well, and I need some help on this Homecoming poster. I’m recruiting you all to help me!” George said excitedly. The three reactions were vastly different. Sapnap groaned and rolled his eyes, Dream sighed and nodded, putting a smile on his face, and Karl’s eyes widened as he nodded as well.

“Oh, okay sure,” Karl said timidly. George grinned as they walked into the library, which was much larger than his last school’s. Karl paused briefly to look around, knowing he would be spending a lot of time here.

“Cool isn’t it?” Sapnap asked him. “I don’t read much but this place is sick.” Karl nodded, still gazing out at the room. It was big, very big in fact, with a large glass dome on the roof, allowing the morning light to spill through and brighten the area. Vines grew down from the ceiling as well, some nearly reaching the tops of the tall wood bookshelves. It looked magical, like something out of a fictional movie, except it was certainly real and Karl was certainly there. Sapnap nudged his shoulder, implying that they needed to catch back up with Dream and George, who were already sitting at a table. Karl looked at the other tables and noticed plenty of people staring at the four of them.

“Why are there so many people looking at us?” Karl whispered to Sapnap, who just smiled.

“Uh, not to come off sounding cocky or anything, but our friend group is quite… popular here. We normally stick to ourselves, so people are probably surprised to see you with us,” he said, laughing nervously. Immediate fear washed over Karl, who was realizing now what kind of situation he had gotten himself into. “Oh,” he said simply, unsure of how to respond. The four were now sitting at a small table, with the blank poster board spread out in front of them.

“Okay, Karl, how good are you at art?” George asked, causing the three of them to stare at him blankly. Maybe it was luck, but Karl happened to be pretty good at art related things.

“I guess pretty good?” He said. George smiled and handed him a pencil and a few markers. “Perfect, because the three of us are about as good as a toddler in preschool,” he replied. Karl laughed and took the art supplies out of his hand, before realizing he had no idea what he was doing. “Wait, what do you even want me to do,” he asked. George shrugged and looked at the other two, who only shrugged back. “I don’t know, it’s supposed to be a poster to advertise homecoming this year, I have all the info here,” he said while reaching into his pocket.

“Is there, like, a theme or something?” He asked. George nodded eagerly and handed him the paper. “Yup! This year’s theme is under the sea, so however you can draw that, go ahead.” Karl nodded and looked at the poster board, very aware of the fact that the three of them were still watching him eagerly. He sketched out a few fish and an octopus, deciding on the idea that he would draw the information in it’s limbs.

By the time he was finished, it looked pretty decent, or as decent as it could be for a 45 minute job. At this point George was passed out, leaning up against Dream’s shoulder, who was scrolling through twitter on his phone. Sapnap had gotten up to get food, although it had been nearly 20 minutes so who knows where he was.

“Hey, George, wake up,” Dream said softly, poking George’s cheek and effectively waking him up. “Karl finished your dumb poster.” George opened his eyes and looked down at the mess of blue and green marker.

“Oh thank you Karl, this looks great!” He said happily. Karl smiled, “it’s no problem, you’ve been very nice to me today, it’s the least you could do,” he said shyly.

“We’re nice to you because you’re cool!” He heard behind him. He whipped his head around and saw Sapnap who was standing with a tray of drinks. Karl smiled as Sapnap picked up one of them and handed it to him.

“I had no idea what to get you so I just got us all hot chocolate, we all like it so I just got 4,” Sapnap said. Karl ginned and took the warm drink out of his hand, taking a sip.

“Well don’t worry because hot chocolate is my second favorite drink,” Karl replied. A look of relief washed over Sapnap as he handed out the rest of the drinks around the table.

“So, Karl, what class do you have next?” Dream asked.

“English I think? But after that I’ve got lunch,” he said. Dream smiled and nodded.

“Oh! You have the same lunch as us?” He asked. George punched him in the shoulder causing Dream to fall into a mess of defense and confusion. “Hey! What did I do?” He said. George laughed and shook his head. “I literally told you last period that I invited Karl to sit with us at lunch, do you even listen?” Dream rolled his eyes, his face turning a slightly pink color.

“Yeah, but when you talk about boring stuff 90% of the time I tend to block it out,” he sneered, causing the table to laugh loudly. They sat and chatted a bit, drinking their hot cocoa, before the bell rang once more. This was the first class Karl had where he didn’t technically know anyone, aka he didn’t have Dream, George, or Sapnap, but he wasn’t too worried. Karl enjoyed meeting new people, so he didn’t mind being forced into the class alone. The lingering fear of accidentally becoming friends with the popular group of their grade did concern him however, as his last school never really had any sort of hierarchy in that way. He didn’t think it would be any different, he would just act as himself, but he was still worried about messing something up. His thoughts were cut short as he arrived at his classroom, and he looked down at his schedule to make sure he was in the right place. He walked in and sat at the back of the class in an empty seat, but not 10 seconds later a girl came up to him.

“I’m sorry to bother, but we have assigned seats in this class, and that one is mine,” she said kindly, clearly embarrassed to ask him to get up.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, I had no idea! Do you know where an open seat is?” Karl responded. She let out a small breath, very obviously relieved that he wasn’t mad at her for making him move.

“Yeah, the one next to me here is open, I’m sorry again for making you move,” she said while hastily sitting down in the seat. “It’s totally fine, really, you don’t need to worry,” he said. She smiled and Karl sat down next to her.

The english lesson went about as average as it possibly could, but at least he stayed awake this time. He was now in the hallway, desperately trying to remember where the cafeteria was. He hoped Dream, George, and Sapnap, who he learned were always referred to as the ‘dream team,’ still wanted him to sit with them, otherwise he would have no one.

“Karl!” He heard as he walked in. Several faces turned to the source of the voice, who was Sapnap, and then to him. He stood frozen in the lunchroom entrance, not used to this amount of attention on him. With his head down he swiftly walked to the 3 boys who were sitting at a table with a few other people.

“Guys, this is Karl, the guy I was talking about earlier,” Sapnap said, introducing him to the others. “Karl this is Callahan, Sam, and Bad,” he continued. Karl nodded and waved to them, sitting down next to sapnap. Each circular table had 3 benches, clearly meant to seat 6 people, so Karl certainly felt out of place when he finally sat. Luckily, Bad, Callahan, and Sam all sat together, leaving Sapnap with Karl, and George with Dream.

“Sorry if I’m taking up too much space,” he said quietly.

“No way, you’re totally fine, right guys?” Sapnap replied, followed with a few nodding heads.

“Anyways, so I think I’ll have the part at my house, it won’t be too big, just to celebrate after the game,” Sam said, continuing whatever conversation they were having earlier. Karl sat quietly and zoned out for a bit, coming back to Sapnap poking his face, trying to talk to him.

“So?” He asked, only to be met with a confused stare from Karl. He sighed and rolled his eyes playfully. “I asked if you wanted to come to the football game friday?” He said. Karl was never a fan of football, or sports in general. It was too much work and even more work to actually understand, so it would be his first football game.

“I mean, I guess so?” He replied. Sapnap cheered and clapped his hands, excited over the fact he was coming. It was nice, Karl really felt like he belonged with them, even if they had only met just a few hours earlier. Callahan made eye contact with him and held out a pop tart, silently gesturing for him to take it. “For me?” He asked. Callahan nodded, setting it in his open hand and went back to eating.

“Oh, by the way, Callahan doesn’t talk, he normally uses a mixture of sign language and facial expressions to talk,” Sapnap whispered in his ear. Karl nodded, making a mental note to learn some basic sign when he got home that night so he could understand him properly.

“So, how are things going in your life?” Sam asked him. All eyes were on him, and his mind simply drew a blank.

“Uh, good I guess? Florida is nice,” he said. “Although it’s a lot hotter than where I used to live.”

Sam raised his eyebrow, “oh, where did you move from?” he asked. Karl laughed and sighed, the mention of his old home bringing back fond memories. “North Carolina, so it was certainly colder,” he replied. Sam chuckled and shook his head. “I hate any cold weather, I used to live in Texas a few years ago, so I never got used to anything below 60.” The conversation continued, forcing Karl to tell stories of his old school, but he didn’t mind. Sure, he missed it, but he liked how things were here, and he already felt a sense of place sitting with the group. Their lunch hour was much shorter than their regular periods, and that was made clear after only 20 minutes with the group. The bell rang, and everyone got up, George and Dream still continuing whatever conversation they were having before. The other 3 left together, so Sapnap and Karl were left together to walk to their next classes.

“Whatcha got now?” Sapnap asked as they navigated through the crowded halls. “Gym,” Karl replied, a look of disgust growing on his face. “No way, me too! We have like, all our classes together!” Sapnap said happily, making Karl smile. “And normally I’d be happy about that, but I actually hate gym so I’m not looking forward to it,” he sighed. Sapnap laughed, shaking his head. “It’s okay, I’ll make it at least somewhat bearable for you, I promise,” he replied. Karl smiled, thankful even though he knew he was only kidding.

“I swear to god I might honking die,” Karl panted. Sapnap cackled and shoved the practically dying Karl into the locker room. Even though each class was only an hour long, to Karl it felt like at least 3. They were running laps today, and Sapnap was grateful for the light work. Karl upon hearing this news practically died on the spot, not wanting to do anything more than walking.

“Wow, you really don’t do much huh?” Sapnap said, still holding back his laughter. Karl shot him an angry look, before cracking a smile back at him. The two changed back into their normal clothes, out of the itchy gym clothes they had to put on before the period started. Luckily it was their last class, so the two bolted out of the locker room to meet with George and Dream. Their last class was together as well, but it was on the other end of the building, so they had time to cool off after running in the hot gym. They were both sweaty messes, Sapnap especially, because he didn’t hold back when they ran.

“So you’re coming to my football game right?” Sapnap asked. Karl stopped in his tracks and stared at him. “You’re on the team?” He practically yelled. Sapnap stopped next to him and looked back with disbelief. “Uh, yeah? I said that at lunch!” He replied. Karl blushed with embarrassment and turned away, silently cursing himself for not paying more attention.

“Well, anyways, you’re coming right? You practically owe me now,” Sapnap snickered. Karl rolled his eyes and nodded, agreeing to go.

“I’ll give you my jersey when it’s over,” Sapnap said, wiggling his eyebrows. Karl shoved his shoulder and they walked to the main foyer, where Sapnap usually waited for Dream and George. “Oh, hey guys, did you just have gym or something?” Karl heard Dream ask from behind them. They turned and smiled in sync at the sight of their other friends.

“Yeah, it was a pretty easy day though, only laps,” Sapnap replied. Dream nodded and took a closer look at Karl before laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Karl said, already knowing the answer. “Nothing, nothing, it’s just, if that’s what you look like after laps I can’t imagine what you’ll be like when you have to actually play sports,” Dream replied, struggling to breathe and talk because of his laughter. Karl mumbled a protest but ultimately agreed, he couldn’t imagine doing that every day. His phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket, it was his mom asking about his day. He responded quickly saying he would be on his way home soon and pocketed it again.

“I gotta head out, my mom’s pestering me about something, I’ll see you later though?” Karl said. He hoped they weren’t just being nice to him because it was his first day, but the three nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, we’ll see you tomorrow, make sure you don’t forget about my game!” Sapnap said. Karl grinned and turned around, walking out the front doors. He had had a great day, the only emotion to sum it up was happiness, which was a surprising change from his grumpy attitude that morning. He hopped into his car and turned on the radio, which happened to be 2000’s throwbacks. He hummed along happily and drove his way home, reminding himself that his new friends were his friends, and that they weren’t just being nice to him for 1 day.