The Only Exception Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Adrien was the complete opposite of what Dad thought he was. It was kind of sudden, but Adrien and I were considered close by the second week we knew each other. If you asked Dad, I would be over at Adrien’s most of the day.

Adrien wasn’t like other people. In that, I meant that he didn’t care for what people thought, but more what they thought. We were seniors the year we met, and he had wanted to major in psychology. He knew tons about the human brain and emotions, while I basically wanted to draw. My dream was to be a famous singer in a band, and that went hand in hand with drawing. His dream was to be this famous psychologist who wrote famous books. His influence was Sigmund Freud, because he was the father of psychoanalysis.

“Just imagine what we could learn,” he whispered. We were in the library for third period study hall, supposed to be looking up influential people that shaped the world. Of course, Adrien asked for Sigmund. I asked for John James Audubon.

“We’d know too much,” I said. “What makes you think that people want to be hypnotized? And anyway, that sort of practice is forbidden in schools.”

“But still.” Adrien was getting excited now. He was in his element. Soon, he’d be talking about these different methods of psychoanalysis, while I would just nod and say “hmm” at the appropriate moments. I decided to stop him early on.

“Instead of us discussing it,” I interrupted, “why don’t you just write it? I’m sure what you have to say can fit into the five page essay we’re supposed to write.”

Adrien abruptly stopped talking and looked at his paper, which was full of random little doodles. Then he crumpled up that sheet and started scribbling ideas. Soon, the paper was full and he was quietly creating his thesis. I stared at him for a bit, and then started writing my own thesis.

As soon as the bell rang, Adrien jumped up, quickly slipping his headphones into his ears and leaving me for the direction of the gym. I myself headed the opposite way, to World History. The class was one of the few bright spots in my life, precisely because no one commented on my hair and how it was distracting.

That was exactly how it went on the first day. The principal had approached me, saying that my hair was a disturbance and that having unnatural hair color was against the school rules. Being the spunky idiot that I was, I took out the school handbook and went to the page about the state school dress code:

“Any student is allowed to wear anything that does not involve gang-related activities and such. Each student is allowed to express themselves in a way that is natural them. The only restrictions are that there be no shirts above the belly-button or showing the navel, no large chain jewelry, and no shorts that have lengths below your thumb. Shoes of unnecessary heights are also disallowed, since the school will not take action if a limb is broken. This is said because of reasons that shall not be discussed.”

I showed him that there was no rule about unnatural hair colors, and he left me alone afterwards.

I sat in my seat. I sat in the back of the room like a loser, because I had no friends in this class. It was okay for me, because that meant that the teacher would only call on me if the other students didn’t know the answer to a question. Happily, all of the smart students sat in the front or middle.

“May I sit here?”

I looked up into the face of the school’s delinquent: Bailey Jordan. Unfortunately, I shouldn’t be calling him a delinquent because I had quite a record myself, retaliation because of my parents divorcing.

He had a tanned face, with dark brown hair that was longer than was fashionable. It made me think of Beck from Victorious, although I hated that show. Bailey’s hair just wasn’t poofy. It was flippy. His eyes were hazel and he was average looking.

“Sure,” I answered, scootching over. The school had double desks: two people to a desk. That was where you stayed the whole year. It made me thankful to sit in the back.

“Thanks.” Bailey sat down and pulled out the textbook we used, along with a laptop. Laptops were optional in the school. He pulled up Microsoft Word and got ready for the lesson.

By the time class was finished, I realized that I was sitting beside the school’s resident genius.