The Car

written by Josie Schultz

The bright sunlight seemingly caresses Conrad's features, emphasizing his masculine beauty. He watched from the bleachers as his friends played some intense game he wasn't interested in, feeling the cool breeze as he did so. Mornings like these were his favorite. He felt like he could actually breathe; it didn't feel like the air around him was suffocating. It was one of the few times he genuinely felt free. He felt truly like himself without the pressure of everyone else beating down on him. 

“HEY CONRAD!! WATCH OUT!” 

He was suddenly snapped out of his moment of bliss by his best friend, Josh, yelling at him, warning him of the ball flying at his face. Instinctively, he put his hand up, catching it. “Thanks, Josh,” he said as he tossed the ball back towards them. 

“I'm going to head to class, see ya guys,”  Conrad said, picking up his backpack and starting towards the school. There was a chorus of different goodbyes from his friends as Josh ran up next to him. It was still early, seeing as it was 7:30 and school didn't start until 8:15, but Conrad liked being early, and Josh was wherever Conrad was. 

Conrad and Josh were inseparable. You could tell they were best friends just by looking at them, but their friendship didn’t start like that. Throughout middle school and freshman year, Conrad was considered a loner. He had a few friends, but they were embarrassed to be seen around him, and many of his other classmates were flat-out scared of him. His parents had a lot of influence in the town, so everyone wanted to be his friend. He formed a large group of people whom he considered all to be his best friends and would do anything he could for them. 

One day, he found out his childhood best friend, Luke, was being severely bullied. He stumbled upon a group of older kids harassing Luke and stepped in. He defended both himself and Luke to the best of his ability until a teacher found out and split them up. The other kids were fairly beaten up by the end, especially compared to Conrad. He had been interested in kickboxing and lacrosse, taking lessons for both, which allowed him to stand his ground in a fight. After hearing about how he acted, many of his friends distanced themselves, eventually avoiding him altogether. The only one who stuck by him the whole time was Zach. They were inseparable, but the keyword there is ‘were’. Zach's bullying didn’t stop, it got worse. 

He went through years of consistent bullying and couldn’t handle it anymore, even with Conrad’s help and support. He had thought the best option was to leave, so he took his own life. At such a young age, 14 to be exact, this had a horrible impact on Conrad and many others around Zach. Conrad, having fallen into depression shortly after, would lash out when people brought up his change in mood or Zach’s death. That was until halfway through his freshman year when Josh first transferred. 

Josh was dead set on being Conrad’s friend, despite all the nasty rumors that had formed. In the beginning, he would consistently try to talk with Conrad but to no avail. Nearing the end of freshman year, Josh was able to break down his walls, becoming Conrad’s (only) friend. They became fairly close throughout the summer because Josh constantly bugged Conrad to hang out or at least do something with him. Slowly, Conrad opened up to Josh and improved a lot through their friendship, the pair quickly becoming inseparable. 

As the next school year started, more people became friendlier with Conrad. They’d ask him about his day and make small talk in the hallways. At first, he was a little taken aback by it, skeptical even. He thought they had alternative motives since they had ignored him just the year before. Gradually he became used to it and gained a lot of popularity, being sucked into a group quickly. 

Though this group did everything to make him feel welcome and like he was a part of it (per Josh’s request), Conrad always noticed a weird air when they hung out. Like they weren’t happy he was there. Like they were pretending and stepping on pins and needles around him, he felt awful about this, so he made up excuses not to be too close to them. 

Conrad blinked, realizing he had made it to class. Thinking back, he had probably been there for about 15 minutes. Josh was next to him, continuing on the random stories he tends to tell. Josh knew that Conrad didn’t often listen to them, but having the silence filled them both comfort and allowed them a time of peace. They still had about 20 minutes until class started, but people were starting to trickle in. 

Josh and Conrad had the same classes, the teachers thought it would be best this way. Many students, and teachers too, were afraid that Conrad would explode in anger at something. The solution they came up with was Josh. They noticed how Josh was able to keep Conrad from getting angry and could handle him when he was. So they were always partnered together. 

Classes flew by as Conrad continuously got lost in thought, reminiscing about the past and how he was able to get where he was. 

“Hey, Josh, Conrad, you guys should come to my party tonight!

 It was one of Josh’s friends. Conrad didn’t know him very well, but felt almost happy he was invited. He had never gone to any parties before, but was feeling different about this one. Josh looked towards Conrad, his eyes pleading with him to say yes to the party.
“Sounds fun. What's the address?” Conrad sounded almost bubbly when he spoke, the complete opposite of only two years ago. 

“I’ll text you guys it. can't wait to see ya there.” 

Though the interaction was only a few seconds, it would dramatically change the rest of the year for everyone at the party.

T.B.C