'How to become normal when everyone else is a genius'. Bill hadn't written much in the WordPad on his computer, which was definitely not ideal considering the essay was due the next day. His eyes were bloodshot red, for he had been staring at the bright computer screen for the past couple of hours, trying to figure out what it was Mrs. Figgins wanted him to write.
He kept reading the text over and over again. The only idea he had was shutting off the laptop and going to bed. At this point, the essay was just one of many problems that Bill had to solve- problems such as being on the verge of loosing his best friend.
Speaking of which, as soon as the thought of Kate pops up in his mind, the boy is immediately distracted from what he had been doing (or better said- had been trying to do) and directs his attention towards his phone. It has been tossed on the other side of the bed, on top of the freshly washed sheets. The screen was dark, something that barely happened at this time of the day. Bill would usually be in his room, laying on the bed (or even the floor), texting Kate and laughing at his own jokes. Their conversations would be about anything from pizza to King Henry VIII and his wives- it really didn't matter what they were talking about, as long as they were talking.
Bill definitely missed that, but then again was there really a way to go back to how things used to be? Probably not, after the past couple of weeks.
He picked up his phone and unlocked it. Immediately, the texts from the day before popped up onto the screen- a painful reminder of what he had lost in a matter of seconds.

Kate: why have you been avoiding me? what is going on?? you know i can help...
Bill: uhhh, how many times do i have to tell you! nothing is wrong. just leave me alone.
Kate: we've know eachother for 10 years. i think i can tell when something is wrong
Bill: maybe you don't know me as well as you thought.

He shook his head, hoping that he would eliminate these thousands of thoughts that were making his head hurt. He looked over the assigment again.
'This is absurd!', he tought. 'Who in the world would want to be normal, if you had the chance to be a genius? If I were a genius, my life would be so much easier... I would know how to react in every situation and have the perfect respone for everything that comes my way... and I would definitely be smarter so I would probably not be writing this stupid essay right now!'.

Annoyed. Upset. Confused.

It's exactly what Bill feels right now, reading those last texts that may have just costed him a friendship. Having to forget them and everything that has happened for the sake of an essay really didn't seem fair to him. Why couldn't he just write about how he felt- instead of being forced to randomly come up with ideas on a topic that he does not relate to?
Would a genius have the perfect solution for a something like this? 'Probably so..', he thought.
Now he's even more upset than before. Being trapped in a situation where you're faced with multiple problems which you can't solve isn't really the greatest feeling.

Bill turns off his phone and looks over the title again. 'Normal'. He had heard that word before, sometime during his school day:
'Why can't you just be normal, Mark? Like the rest of us!' was what Bill heard while leaving his biology class. Even though he was half dead (biology wasn't his strongest suit), he could clearly make out the cries for help coming from across the hallway.
As Bill got closer to where the sounds were coming from, he could see a boy on the floor, knees to his chest and his back leaning onto the lockers, trying to avoid getting punched. He assumed this was Mark. The boy had a terrified look on his face, but he wasn't confused at all- he knew exactly what was about to happen. Next to him- or better said, above him- were 3 other boys whom Bill recognized as Jason, Alex and Tommy- the three people everyone stays away from. They were that group of kids that everyone knew not to bother. Clear the way if they're walking down the hall, do as they say- that sort of thing. Otherwise, you would end up like Mark.
Even though Bill's nr. 1 rule for surviving high school was to stay out of the way and go unnoticed, he couldn't stop walking towards the 4 boys. He was going to try and stop them.
'Hey, leave him alone!' he yelled, now even closer to them.
'OOO, look who's coming to rescue you, Mark.' teased Alex, smirking.
'Is little Billy gay like Marky? Are you two lovers?' laughed Jason, Alex and Tommy both joining in.

Shocked. Exposed. Surprised. Sad. Embarassed.

Bill didn't know he could feel so horrible, since he clearly knew that his secret was nothing to be ashamed of. Still. He felt horrible. A genius would've definitely known how to respond to their 'jokes' and wouldn't have ended up feeling so miserable.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds, annoyed about what had happened, and sighed. He looked at the bright laptop screen again. Still- no ideas. It's like he's stuck.

Angry.

'AAAAAH!' he yelled, tossing his notebook across the room, hitting the wall. There were so many things he needed to do and things he needed to fix, but he didn't know how.
His mother enters the room, woken up by the loud noises coming from Bill's bedroom.
She walks in with a scared look on her face, but her expression softens when she sees her son, with a hopeless look on his face, lying in front of his computer.
'I understand that it may seem difficult, but once you calm down and gather your thoughts, you'll feel much better and suddenly your task will not be impossible.' she said, running her hand thorugh his hair. 'I trust you, son.'

Loved. Happy. Encouraged.

Would a genius ever be in a situation where he or she would need the support of their loved ones? Probably not, considering they would always know what to do and say, which would never lead them into situations where they feel trapped. annoyed. upset. confused. shocked. exposed. embarassed. angry.
As his mother leaves the room. Bill lays his hands back onto the keyboard. He looked at the empty, white screen and then back at his shaking hands.

'In order to become 'normal' when everyone else is a genius, you need to feel.'