SS: Perry's Story (v1)

Perry was a complete nerd. You know those stereotypical nerds that have asthma, wear dorky glasses, allergies, etc.? Perry was proof that they still exist. Everyday, he would be bullied, teased, hit, and more. His nerd status also causes people to avoid him, making him the loneliest person in school. The only one who accepted him, oddly enough, was the school’s janitor; not even the teachers approved of him.

Today was Monday: the worst day for Perry to be Perry. Ever since he attended school at Almswood High School, the student body unofficially named all Mondays “Hate Perry Day”. Oddly enough, the punishments Perry received were only a fraction worse on Mondays, because harassment was an all-week event.

“Mom, I don’t want to go to school today!” exclaimed Perry. He knew that his mother would allow him to, even though he knew that the torture would be much more severe tomorrow. It seemed that all of the kids were out to get them, which specific dates and times they were to harass him.

His mother nodded in agreement and began writing a note. Perry’s mom was probably the only person, besides the janitor who even liked him, but ever since she caught an unknown strain of strep, her voice has faded tremendously. Doctors named it Strep Q, a previously unknown strain that doctors are constantly working on a cure for. She finished writing the note, explaining there was food in the refrigerator and to be careful. She then collected her purse and walked to the car, to be injected with the latest vaccination created.

Perry read the note and plopped onto the couch to finish his homework. Geometry was not his strong suit, so he knew it would take about an hour to finish. His teacher was not gracious about homework, especially to Perry. Scribbles and erasing was the only sound to be heard in the house.

Time whizzed by, stretching from 9am up to noon. Perry finally finished, just as the clock struck noon. Satisfied with his effort, he briskly walked into the adjacent kitchen for lunch. At least when he had lunch at home, it wasn’t constantly being pushed into his face by other students. After finding some leftover noodles from the previous night, he tossed them into the microwave and sat down at the table, staring outside. What he was looking for, Perry didn’t know. Hope? Hope was lost upon him long ago.

Something caught his eye from the right side. What was that moving in the breeze? Perry did a double take as he saw another foreclosure sign in the front yard of his neighbor. That was nothing new, due to the sloping economy. What caught his eye, though, was a car pulling up to it. A fairly old red minivan pulled into the driveway, which Perry knew was not the car of their former neighbors.

Each member of the family filed out of the car, giving Perry a better view of his possible to-be neighbors. The first one to step out was a girl his age. She had long, smooth brown burnt umber hair, a perfect round nose, and lime green eyes. She smiled when she saw the house, showing a set of perfect white teeth.

The next one to step out was the driver. She was a lot older than the girl, possibly her mother. Her hair colour was identical to the daughter, but her hair was pulled back slightly, showing slightly-pointed ears. The last one to step out was on the opposite side, so Perry didn’t get a good look at him or her. He hoped the girl would accept him, but he had a gut feeling that she would be like the rest of the students at AWHS. DING, rang the microwave for the 11th time, as Perry rushed to retrieve the noodles he was initially waiting for. When he came back, the trio (he was assuming) was already inside the house.

Perry sat down, looking through the window, hoping to catch a glance of the (hopefully) neighbors-to-be, but the shades remained closed. He was about halfway through his noodles when his mom walks through the door, a glum look in her face. 16 vaccines were prepared so far, but none of them proved effective yet. She began writing him another note, tears flowing from her eyes.

Perry read the note:

Perry,
The doctors haven’t found the cure yet, so they came to a consensus and they’ve asked me to travel to a European clinic for further studies. The Mayo Clinic wants nothing to do with this condition, so I’ll have to move international for about 3 months. Since relatives live too far away, I’ve asked the neighbors to be your guardian during my European stay.

I’m sorry.

Perry re-read the note several times, trying to find a way to understand, even though the facts were written in black and white. But the neighbors would surely let him die. In fact, they were less comforting than AWHS, if that was even possible.

“Mom, the neighbors hate me! I’d never live past a month under their wings,” exclaimed Perry. His mother nodded, and began writing another note.

I won’t be placing my trust in the neighbors, but in our brand new neighbors next door. The Johnsons will be moving in tonight, so perhaps you’ll make some friends.

Perry lit up, remembering the people who were exploring the neighbor’s house earlier. They seemed like friendly people.

“Okay, I’ll see how they’re like tomorrow,” answered Perry, hoping that it would be a pleasant experience.

The next morning, Perry woke up to the sound of the generic cry of his alarm clock. He showered, dressed, and dug into breakfast. He feared what pranks the Seniors and Juniors would do to his lunch, so he planned on eating enough food at breakfast, so he could skip lunch.
He began his journey to the bus stop, cautious of people around him. Looking around, he was safe for now. However, he felt there was someone behind him. Scared, he jotted ahead a few feet and turned around to face his attacker. However, it wasn’t an attacker; it was the girl from next door.

She smiled at him. “Hi, my name’s Jenny,” she said, her tone in perfect harmony with the bells in heaven.

“Um, hi. My name is Perry,” he said cautiously, wondering if the other students already got to her. Judging by the smile and the friendliness, he’d put his skeptical thoughts away for now. She was so perfect in every way. So, why was she talking to him?

“That’s a neat watch,” Jenny commented, “It has a lot of different measurements.”

“Thanks,” Perry said, “It measures temperature, time, and eclipses.”

“That must be very useful,” she commented.

“Yeah,” he said. Things were still a little awkward, and Perry didn’t know anything about Jenny. “Have you met anybody from school yet?” he queried, hoping the answer would be ‘no’.

“Actually no,” Jenny answered, “I was hoping you could show me around school. The administrators didn’t give me a map and I didn’t have time to find windows.”

“Windows?” asked Perry.

“Sorry, I meant students,” Jenny said, “I never got time to meet other students that could help.”

“Oh,” he answered, “Well, I can surely give you a tour. Just let me know what you need to find.” What are you thinking? Perry asked himself. You can’t give her a tour if your head is being flushed in the toilet!

“Thanks!” Jenny exclaimed, giving him a hug. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“It’s no trouble,” he answered, enjoying the hug.

“Hey, look who it is!” shouted a Senior. 7 other students at the bus stop swiveled around to the direction of Perry and Jenny, turning their friendly smiles into evil grins. Jenny just blankly stared at the big, steroid-filled athletes.

“Wow, look at the girl with nerd boy!” exclaimed another jock, the hormone levels in the area rising like a weather balloon. Jenny rolled her eyes.

“Hey what does it take to get a date with the prettiest girl in the area?” asked the Senior coolly, stepping towards her in a romantic manner, clearing trying to provoke a ‘yes’ answer.

“Someone who doesn’t look like the Hulk and uses slander,” answered Jenny, rolling her eyes at his comment. Perry just watched from the sidelines of this interaction between the bullies and this mysterious girl. She turned down the most popular, athletic and handsome guy at school without batting an eye. Jenny was a force that, undeniably, had a brain uncorrupted with hormones.

The whole group of boys froze, shocked at her response. Jenny grew bored, and continued walking to the bus stop, pulling Perry with her. Perry only stared at the guys’ faces. He saw only emptiness in their eyes, loneliness in their cheeks, and shock in their lips. The group continued to remain frozen, even as the yellow school bus arrived. Perry and Jenny boarded the bus, leaving the upperclassmen still standing on the sidewalk.

The bus scene was similar to what happened at the bus stop, although the groups of girls on the bus seemed to melt in Jenny’s presence. Finding an open seat, Perry sat down as he enjoyed the show of Jenny telling off every boy on the bus that attempted to ask her out. She sat next to Perry once the ritual was finished. The girls, shocked at the denials thrown at the boys, began to perk up again. Gossip and such began flowing through the bus again, as if nothing had ever happened.

For one reason or another, he had a gut feeling today would mark a milestone in his revolution against “Hate Perry” day and “Hate Perry” year. Aside from the chit chat of overexcited cheerleaders, the bus remained eerily quiet. The guys had revived from the relationship denials and began talking about upcoming games just as the bus came to school, the bus neatly parking right next to the curb.

The guys rushed off the bus, bolting to their domain of the school, as the girls briskly walked off the bus to meet with friends, forming small pods outside the school and inside the massive hallways. Since Perry had no friends to rush off with, he just walked to his first class, avoiding the gasps as guys and girls alike stared at him. Well, maybe it wasn’t just the fact that he was there, but the fact that he and Jenny were there together.

“Perry, where’s A216?” asked Jenny, as she started reading her class list.

“A216 is the Honors Geometry classroom,” answered Perry, “That’s my first class, so I can take you there right now.”

The duo continued down the main hallway of Almswood, taking off into several different hallways that branched out from the main one. The reached their destination without trouble, as Jenny’s presence basically froze anybody who attempted to stop Perry. When they reached the room, it was completely empty.


“So, where do you sit?” asked Jenny, examining the whole room.

“Actually, we can sit wherever. The teacher, Ms. Pattersknack, doesn’t give us assigned seats,” answered Perry, as he began unloading his backpack under a seat in the first row. Jenny did likewise with the seat to the left of his, directly next to the window. Meanwhile, time whizzed by, and students began filling the room, the last one to arrive being the teacher.

The whole rest of the day was a blur, as teachers lectured and the duo, Perry and Jenny, focused on academics. It turns out that both of them had the same classes, same lunch, and the same reaction as they flowed from class to class. Lunch was peaceful, as the boys kept their distance from Jenny, learning from their first fatal mistake. The only ones brave enough to sit near them were the seven gay guys of the school and the heterosexual girls, whom felt courage from Jenny.

As the day wrapped up, the two students of Almswood walked home, exchanging phone numbers for emergencies, as well as screen names. They both walked to their separate homes and left the streets that for once, gleamed with a new life. The new era arrived.