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06
OBVIOUSLY, THERE WAS point in Scott Akers's life when he didn't dress up and act like a punk. Although, it's highly unimaginable to conjure an image of him without his trademark tattoos and black clothing. It's almost like the time before his transformation doesn't exist at all, and he's just always been this punk boy -- straight out of the womb and everything. If only.
Scott had dressed normal, for the lack of a better word. He had worn colorful t-shirts and denim jeans and his hair was neatly cut and there weren't any tattoos decorating his skin. It's absolutely unimaginable to anyone who looks at him right now. Scott, just before the age of sixteen, also didn't feel comfortable with this style choice. He felt like he was bound to nice boy expectations when his inner-self only wanted to tell the rest of the world to fuck off.
So, he made a change. He donated all of his old clothes, bought a new wardrobe, said whatever he wanted, did whatever he wanted, and simply felt more like himself than ever.
His mother, he's sure of it, almost had a heart attack at the first sight of him. His dad just kind of smiled and went along with it. Everyone at school, well, they hadn't reacted so kindly. They just gaped at him, made obnoxiously rude comments, and ignored him. Scott lost a good amount of his friends due to the change, and it was that moment that Scott understood how cruel the world actually is.
And that's how Scott ended up being alone in his high school life.
Except, he met this really girly and cute girl who seems to like him enough to hang out with him. He honestly doesn't understand how it happened, but after Camille's few other visits to Sweet Stems and their casual conversations at school, they just started to get along even more. It's suddenly catching up to him. Camille isn't afraid of being seen around school or anywhere with him. It feels surreal to Scott.
Right now, they're sitting in the school library in their free period. Camille is working on some English writing assignment, and Scott is just sitting there with his feet on the table and a sandwich in his hand. Of course, he'd be the one to break the rules. And the nasty look the librarian, Mrs. Belsen, is throwing his way doesn't faze him at all.
He continues chewing on his Nutella sandwich, watching Camille's eyebrows scrunch up with a slight frustration.
"Do you need help?" Scott surprises himself by asking, removing his feet from the table and then leaning closer to get a better view of her work. Although he's great in school and all that, Scott isn't really into the whole Literature thing.
"I don't think so," she says, biting her lip and looking at the punk boy with big hazel eyes in such an innocent way, "I'm just-- ugh, writer's block."
