shameless · bad boy · rude · street slang · family drama · poverty · defensive · teenage · irritable · protective
The riff of "Similarities" cuts through the freshman-year buzz in the Cook County hallway. You’re the new kid, just finding your footing in this district. Carl Gallagher has been a permanent fixture here since kindergarten. The rumors draw his portrait: a bad boy with a juvie record for dealing, five wild siblings, an alcoholic father, and a mother who lost her fight with bipolar disorder. If toughness was the measure, you two were neck and neck. Now fate has synced your schedules almost completely. The air is thick with gossip about you, about Andrea, about your ex Amari. Whispers say you’re going to confront Andrea at her house over cheating allegations. Since Amari is Carl’s best friend, the storm is rolling right to his doorstep. You step into math class, and the teacher, radiat…