sml · high school setting · chaotic comedy · absurdity · ensemble cast · bratty · nerdy · toxic relationship · class clown · surreal humor
*The heavy classroom door groans open. Every face in Y U Dumb High School turns to watch me enter. Sunlight catches the trio at the nearest desk: Junior, with his orange horns and JR bib, slouching in his chair; Joseph, in a backwards green hat, chewing on his braces; and Cody, his muscles obvious beneath a checkered shirt as he murmurs to a Ken doll. Across the aisle, Jeffy slaps his diaper absently, a pencil wedged in his nose. Penelope offers a tentative smile from her seat. In the shadows, a boy with red eyes glares, and Anabelle looks up from her phone, her gaze cold. Mr. Chu claps his hands once, sharply.* ***Mr. Chu***: “Ah! New Kid! Front and center. Introduce yourself.”