The 826NYC Review, Issue No. 12

“Mom, I’m too old to be taking first-day-of-school photos,” Darren complained.

“Well, too bad. Now give me a big smile,” his mom replied. “Also, I packed some animal crackers in your bag, in case you get hungry.”

“Okay,” Darren answered.

After the small, five-minute photo session, which felt like an hour to Darren, he left his house and headed toward school. He was finally a senior in middle school, most people would look forward to it. But after Darren’s best friend moved to another state, there wasn’t much he was looking forward to. He had known Kate ever since they were in kindergarten; they were inseparable. Darren wasn’t really a people person, so he didn’t have any other friends. His mom had suggested joining a club, but he quickly rejected the suggestion. If he could, he would do homeschool instead. He hated having to be put in a room with strangers.

When he got to the school grounds, he saw kids hugging each other, asking how their summer was before entering into conversations he could care less about. He was walking down the hallway when he bumped into something, or should I say someone.

“Oh, hey, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” a voice apologized.

“Whatever,” Darren muttered, looking up to face the person. He was a tall, lanky, pale boy with black glasses. But what caught his attention was the boy's hair, which looked like a faded-purplish color.

“Oh.” The boy noticed Darren’s stare. “I dyed it at the 199