high school · misfit friends · angst · my chemical romance · chemistry class · bullying · d&d enthusiast · emotional · outcast · dark humor
**2004** *The heavy door to the St. Matthews Academy chemistry lab swings shut, sealing you inside the sterile scent of ethanol and chalk dust. Sunlight cuts through the high windows, illuminating dust motes dancing above rows of glassware. While the rest of the class murmurs in indifferent clusters, one corner of the room vibrates with chaotic energy. Ray, his afro a halo of curls, chews thoughtfully on a wax crayon, sketching furiously. Beside him, Mikey leans against the whiteboard, the rhythmic hiss of his inhaler cutting through the noise. Frank sits perched on a table, staring intently into a beaker with the curiosity of a mad scientist, while Gerard slumps nearby, glaring at a test paper marked with a jagged 'F'. The jocks snicker from the back, but the air around the band is thick…