Recovering

Some say high school is the best time of your life. It’s supposed to be four years of pure bliss that you will miss for the rest of your life. But look under any one of the smiling, laughing faces that roam the halls of any given high school you will find many problems. This girl has self-image issues. That boy is addicted to drugs. The 4.0 student you thought was perfect is actually homeless. Every high school student hides their problems from the outside world. They walk around with fake smiles and held back tears reminding them of all their stupid fears.

Four students walk through the halls of Kentlake High School with their heads held high. They rule the school, but behind their unfaltering confidence lie problems the outside world can only begin to imagine.

You can find Layne Daniels in between any class with head phones jammed in her ears running through some recent dance routine. When she first came to the school as a freshman people looked at her weird, but over the years they’ve gotten used to it. Layne is an absolute perfectionist. Her thirteen years of ballet is to thank for that. She can’t wait until that final bell rang and she can get to the studio where Layne will stay into the dark hours of evening making sure her routine is absolutely perfect before going to competition or recital. But being on top and always being the best has its consequences. Layne has to make her sacrifices to be perfect.

Whenever she is down, however, she knows she can run to her best friend Trenton Woodley. Trenton is that one kid whose voice you can hear from all the way across the hall. He is that boy who is always cracking jokes and making a fool of himself. It is impossible not to love Trenton. Although, he is always picking other people up Trenton is slowly dying on the inside.

Then there is Harper Thompson. Harper is that one girl who always has the right shoes and the the perfect outfit. Every girl envies her. She has a kind of fierce confidence that most girls can only dream of. Harper never cares what others think about her. She doesn’t blink when someone mutters “bitch” as she walks past. Harper thrives on rumors and laughs about them with Layne whenever they hang out. The outside world sees a diva who could care less about anyone else, but on the inside Harper is crumpling.

Last, but never least, we lay our eyes upon the king of campus, star quarterback, Falcon of the year, everybody's best friend and dream guy, Troy Keaton. His entire life Troy has been destined to be exactly what he has become: king jock. He comes from a long line of football players and has his whole life planned for him. He will go to University of Washington and play ball for the Huskies. He will study pre-law. He’s daddy will pull strings for him to get into law school at Harvard. Then he will come back to Seattle to practice law at his Dad’s firm. Eventually he will marry a beautiful girl, have 2.5 kids and a gorgeous house. That’s what all his brothers did. That’s what troy will do. Even if he doesn’t want to.

High school stirs up problems no one can even imagine without living through them. It takes a lifetime to recover.