August 29, 2007. A new student’s first day at a new school. He walks through a sea of unfamiliar faces. The first day is the worst. No one knows him. He gets through each day with silent tolerance. Before he knows it, two weeks have passed. Things still haven’t changed. Just when he thinks that he is stuck in this crowded solitude for the rest of his high school career, he talks to four boys in his class. At first they only speak to each other a few times a day, like at lunch and in between classes. But as each day passes, they begin to talk more and more. Soon they are actually getting in trouble for how much they talk to each other. The new student who thought he was doomed to solitude for four years had found his solution. Before these boys knew it they were inseparable. It was rare to see one or the other walking alone on his way to class or sitting alone at lunch. They stuck to each other through every scrape. When one was in trouble, it was likely that the other four were also involved in some way or another. When one did something good, he usually owed it to one or another of his friends.

Before they knew it, they had been branded more as one big group than five individuals. They soon had a title–The Freshman Five. It turned out that this new student was not so alone after all. There was also another new student at the school. He also had experienced the same things and felt the same way. Another thing that their group soon discovered that they all had in common was they all had suffered hardships in their lives. Although they all came from different backgrounds, they felt like they had no differences whatsoever. Some had come from wealthy families, others not so much. Some had broken homes, others did not. But their past was of no importance; they all had arrived at the same place one way or another. All of a sudden, teachers, students, and all others alike had branded them as a group. This became a problem for their group. Although each of them weren’t perfect students, they were not much better or worse than any other students in their school. Soon people began to say things to them when they acted up, even though it seemed every other person was doing it. People knew the name by now, the Freshman Five. If a teacher walked into a room and saw the whole class talking, the first to come to their mind were these boys. And the first person they would yell at or punish was these boys. Before they knew it, they felt like they had become trapped in a prison of no escape, because seemingly no matter what they did these boys were forever branded as troublemakers. They would not act out or do anything wrong for months at a time, but that did not mean that scrutinizing eyes were not always on them.

Then, the one time they would slip up, their watchers would come down on them even harder than before. Sometimes they would be punished without ever comprehending exactly what it was they had done wrong. All the while every other student in the school would continue to act as they willed, not having to worry about their actions, because the spotlight was not on them. These boys, especially in the beginning of the forging of their group, were no angels. But even when they were corrected and had seen the error in their ways, and had turned from their mischief, no one would seem to let go of their past. All these things stood in their path, but it could not stop them. When they had decided to become friends–actually brothers more so than friends–their decision was permanent. They would fight, of course, like all friends but in the end they would get over it and it would only make their bond stronger. Even when it seemed the whole world stood against them, they would just draw closer together and help each other throught their struggles. The Freshman Five were for forever, or so it seemed. Eventually the freshman year came to an end, and with it came some unexpected news. One friend was moving. At first, they thought that the Freshman Five were done. How could they possibly lose one of their own and still have the same sense of brotherhood. In a sense they were right. But with the arrival of the 10th grade year came a new era of friendship. The Sophomore Four. Now with one gone, instead of falling apart like would be expected, they became even stronger.

But even though they had a new title and were almost a different group entirely, their past reputaion eventually caught up with them again. So their sophomore year was not extremely different from their prior year. They dragged through the year trying to not get into trouble and trying to defeat their reputation. But they did not succeed. So now they are still together, of course, in the final days of their sophomore year. There is no doubt that their unity will survive thoughout high school but the question is how difficult will it be for them? Will people continue to stereotype them or can they just go through high school like every other teenager in America with the exception, of course, of the friendship they have that very few on the face of this planet have ever experienced? Only time will tell. Until then, SOPHOMORE FOUR FOREVER.