The Nerd and The Frog

Hormones (Part 2)

*There will be instances of homophobia and depictions of sexual activity. Reader's discretion is advised. *

November, 3 years ago. 8th Grade

Nothing was making much sense at this point. Between the fact that they still had to practice when it was so close to winter didn't seem logical, and the fact that he had more homework than he could deal with wasn't helping him keep track of his schedule whatsoever. Granted, these assignments weren't difficult for him to complete. It was the fact that it was so much work.

That's what I get for taking some AP classes...

What made things even harder was that he no longer had the same classes with his two best friends; Nicolette and Thomas. They only saw each other once throughout the entire day, and they were in separate instances. Alan saw Nicolette in Algebra I, while he saw Thomas in Geography and volleyball practice after school. Even meeting after school was an issue. Besides volleyball, they had other outside activities. Nicolette was becoming more interested in photography, Thomas was not only in volleyball, but also trying out for rugby, to Alan's surprise. It was just as Thomas stated back earlier in the year: they were starting to separate.

Alan was making his way towards the gymnasium once the final bell had rang, replying to a text message from Nicolette as he made his way down the hall.

Alan: So, are you not going to be free this evening?

Nikki: No, I have a group project I need to finish for photography, and then I have homework. Sorry :(

Alan: It's cool. Maybe we can all hangout this weekend like we planned...

Nikki: I hope so! I haven't seen you guys since last Thursday night. I hope nothing happens to ruin the plan.

Alan: Yeah, me too...

Their time together was incredibly infrequent, which Alan didn't think would affect him in such a way. They all seemed to be branching off into their own little buckets. Nicolette was becoming more involved with the photography group, Thomas was becoming more involved with academics, leadership and sports activities, while Alan was incredibly lost. At this point, the only thing he had going for him was volleyball and his academics, which he was starting to get teased about. Volleyball was his saving grace for not being lumped in with the nerds, and that was strictly due to the fact that he knew Thomas, who was the captain of the team. But, connections aside, he had earned his respect from teammates and other students alike, because Alan was their ace, as his serves were like no other. The only other player who was on par with him was Thomas, and another player named Jonathan.

Jonathan was a teammate that Alan didn't really get along with, to put it bluntly. He was this physically fit, tall guy that was mixed (white and Spanish, to be specific). He was a great guard and wonderful at setting up volleys, but for some reason he had a tendency to just tease Alan every time he saw him. He often called him "nerd," "lanky" and "clingy," since he began to assume that Alan was using Thomas as a clutch to appear "cool." Thomas would of course defend Alan when it came to that last insult, but would often laugh along with him when he called him anything else. When Alan would call Thomas out on it, Thomas would calmly reassure him that Jonathan, "Didn't mean anything by it. He teases everyone he likes."

However after practice today, there was one insult that Alan just couldn't tolerate from Jonathan, and this is when things went downhill.

Several of them were in the locker room getting cleaned up before heading home one day. Alan was changing out of his uniform, removing his shirt over his head before he heard someone laugh loudly. Curious, he looked around for the source, only to see that it was Jonathan with 3 other teammates that Alan never really socialized with outside of volleyball. To his surprise, they were looking in his direction and laughing, before looking back at Jonathan's phone.